The demise of Marks & Spencer ?

nicensleazy

Sadly, the quality of Marks and Spencer clothes has gone down hill. T shirts and socks appear to be a lot thinner and not of the same quality of a few years ago. Also, they have now taken on the former MD of Morrisons to head the company! Have you ever been shopping in Morrisons????

Bunneh

Morrisons is my local and it's fine, that said their prices have increased quite massively over the past 2 years. Bread that once used to cost me 45p is now approaching 80p but they do have some excellent deals.

As for M&S, they sell so so stuff at high prices. I'd rather get my clothing from Asda than M&S.

dilemna

M&S stuff is now crap. I was given a comfy pair of slippers, yes slippers, a couple of years ago. They fell apart after 4 months. I purchased another pair from a charity shop at 1/3 of the price, they were new not pre-owned, which have lasted 3 years and are still going strong. I seldom go in M&S as their ranges are boring. Plus customer service at M&S is poor.

simonaspinall

M&S has been resurgent in it's 'traditional' market of middle-aged women in the previous 10 years after a long-term decline.

The main issue it has is that it doesn't know what it is....department store? supermarket? fashion? food? furnishings?

All these things are well catered for by tescos, IKEA, Next and the internet in general.

It use to compete on quality but when you have the Finest/Best/Taste the difference range why do you go to M&S.

Add in the fact that they don't have as many stores and are seen as expensive and you're in trouble. They also don't have the range and depth of the big four - you couldn't guarantee you'd get certain ingredients in M&S.

End result is - Their competitors are serving the customer better, reaching them better and it's not see as a status brand anymore - It's a classic example of how 60s/70s British Management has been out-manouvered, out-gunned and out-classed by everybody else.

I can't think of any range that can't be bettered elsewhere - even the supposed underwear shrine they had can be dealt with by a million other competitors.

Aggieboy

This isn't just a post, it's an M and S post.

rick_chasey

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... ey-freeman

Am i supposed to care?

She's got the right idea.

On how to be British.

4. Marks & Spencer

You will be expected to care greatly about the fortunes of this middle-of-the-road, overpriced store. When this store falls, so does Britain.

Le Commentateur

As a reasonably fit middle-aged cyclist I have always found that M&S sells virtually no clothing that fits me, plus the styles are dull. They seem to cater mostly for people with a classic British middle-aged body shape (overweight) and who prefer shades of grey, blue or beige.

stfc1

simonaspinall wrote:

I can't think of any range that can't be bettered elsewhere

I don't think they count as a range, but their egg custards are the best

simonaspinall

stfc1 wrote:

simonaspinall wrote:

I can't think of any range that can't be bettered elsewhere

I don't think they count as a range, but their egg custards are the best

Quiet you! I'm hungry!

stfc1

Double post, somehow, apologies.

Porgy

nicensleazy wrote:

Have you ever been shopping in Morrisons????

All the time - I consider it to be the best supermarket there is, after Waitrose.

Correction (28th March)

After kitting myself out in Lidl cycling accesories at the weekend (shades, bottle, lights and computer) for only 20 quid - my favourite supermarket is now Lidl. 8)

nicensleazy

Porgy wrote:

nicensleazy wrote:

Have you ever been shopping in Morrisons????

All the time - I consider it to be the best supermarket there is, after Waitrose.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

CarbonCopy

I`m more worried about the fact that peaple on here actually wear clothes from the same shop my grand parents get their`s from. :roll:

antfly

I got some wool socks from M and S last year, half a dozen pairs for a few quid. They are fantastic, I wear them every day and they are still going strong. I don`t rate their undies though FWIW.

shockedsoshocked

I've bought two suits from M+S, the quite expensive (for me!) slim fit ones. Lovely.

Everything else admittedly is for Grandads.

ScottieP

I think they (M&S) make the best sausage rolls

iainment

I like their cornish pasties.

Bunneh

antfly wrote:

I got some wool socks from M and S last year, half a dozen pairs for a few quid. They are fantastic, I wear them every day and they are still going strong. I don`t rate their undies though FWIW.

Get my socks from pound shops, depending on which shop you can get yourself 5 pairs for a quid, and they're well made. Thank goodness for sweat shops!

bagpusscp

The sad fact is most of the clothing range is now imported.Up until the late 90's it was all made in the UK.By dedicated suppliers
Like most things people could not afford the qualtity /price.Hence British jobs lost.Balance of payments...... :x

The Brand of M&S..... St Michael's stood for superb qualitiy.What Next :?: RR

nwallace

M&S Sizing is suspect, though so is Debenhams.

40" Cords, er ok why when I keep measuring at 42" do I have loads of room to get fatter in?
Also the 40" belt I got from Debenhams, just drilled an extra 2 holes in it.

Still I have a pair of 32" Levi's that I could fit into twice.

nolf

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

I've bought two suits from M+S, the quite expensive (for me!) slim fit ones. Lovely.

Everything else admittedly is for Grandads.

+1 for the good suits.
Slim fit ones are rather nice, I own one. Fit is great, good quality and, although expensive, cheap for what you get.

hopper1

nicensleazy, you almost gave me a heart attack, then... I thought I was about to read that they had gone bust :shock:
I have just been given £300 worth of M & S vouchers from work
God know's what I'll spend them on!

nicensleazy

hopper1 wrote:

nicensleazy, you almost gave me a heart attack, then... I thought I was about to read that they had gone bust :shock:
I have just been given £300 worth of M & S vouchers from work
God know's what I'll spend them on!

dilemna

hopper1 wrote:

nicensleazy, you almost gave me a heart attack, then... I thought I was about to read that they had gone bust :shock:
I have just been given £300 worth of M & S vouchers from work
God know's what I'll spend them on!

Now, your employer gave them to you.............. are they trying to tell you something? Could they be thinking that you could smarten up your appearance by any chance ?

hopper1

dilemna wrote:

hopper1 wrote:

nicensleazy, you almost gave me a heart attack, then... I thought I was about to read that they had gone bust :shock:
I have just been given £300 worth of M & S vouchers from work
God know's what I'll spend them on!

Now, your employer gave them to you.............. are they trying to tell you something? Could they be thinking that you could smarten up your appearance by any chance ?

Having worked offshore for over 25 years, I can't ever say that appearance has ever been an issue...
'First up, best dressed!' is our motto...

Cressers

But if M&S do suffer what is there left for people such as i who don't want to spend £££s to look as if we've just been to a charity shop? None of the other High Strret offerings has anything that I want.

It's true that their range and quality have suffered since they stopped UK sourcing, but even so, they're still the benchmark for reasonably priced acceptable quality clothing.

dgstewart

I don't buy that much from M&S clothes-wise as their styling is not my thing. I would sometimes buy boxers or formal work trousers, but not often.

Their food, however, I think is very good. Pricewise, if you shop sensibly and go for good deals it works out no more expensive than Tesco or the like. M&S fruit and veg is particularly good, slightly better than Tesco, and miles ahead of our local Morrisons, where the fruit and veg is very variable and generally poor.

Le Commentateur

hopper1 wrote:

nicensleazy, you almost gave me a heart attack, then... I thought I was about to read that they had gone bust :shock:
I have just been given £300 worth of M & S vouchers from work
God know's what I'll spend them on!

193 bags of Sea Salt & Crushed Black Pepper Crisps and a can of cola?

Bunneh

I must say that Morrison's Eat Well chicken and pasta bake is excellent. It's a quid and tastes amazing, they have a lot of other low fat meals too which are quite cheap, and tasty. M&S is just too expensive for little old me, I have a fussy cat to feed.

thejesusandsedischain

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

I've bought two suits from M+S, the quite expensive (for me!) slim fit ones. Lovely.

Everything else admittedly is for Grandads.

i agree on the suits just got one of the slim fit ones myself,very modish fitted better than a ted baker at double the price,prob wont last as long though.

Bruce Thornton

I have to disagree about M&S suits. Two summers ago I bought a linen suit. I don't wear a suit much. After wearing it about ten times over eighteen months the seams down the back and the seams split. I took it back only to be told that as it was over a year old they couldn't do anything although they agreed it didn't look as if it had been worn much. I argued if i'd have worn it regular over a few weeks they'd have changed or given me a refund to which they agreed but didn't do anything. I told them that I'd never buy anything from them again.