Fashion retail veteran and Allders chief executive Terry Green has slammed the former M&S management's obsession with younger customers.
Terry Green, who knows Philip Green and Stuart Rose, said M&S must focus on the older, core shopper. He said: 'They've got to start catering for M&S customers. The baby boomers are coming through - I'm one of them.
They're the ones with the spending power, but M&S is talking about capturing younger customers.'
Terry Green, former chief executive of Debenhams, then Bhs, described M&S's new Per Una Due range as 'rubbish'.
Per Una and teen sub-brand Due are designed and produced by George Davies, who is understood to take a chunk of profits from the range.
'They've given over their prime retail estate to Davies and Per Una.
You'd think that would have been enough, but no, they have to give him even more,' said Terry Green.
He thought Per Una Due looked 'very high fashion and fringe. It's not the M&S customer at all.' Of the two rivals, Terry Green said: '(Philip Green) could probably extract more margin than anyone, but Stuart has demonstrated his ability to motivate management and recover business.'
He said of Rose's team, which includes finance whiz Charles Wilson: 'Wilson will only need a week before he's figured out where the cost savings are coming from.'
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