Marks & Spencer Mulls Selling Other Brands
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
UK-based Marks & Spencer has long sold clothes and food, relatively recently introducing some housewares and toiletries. It is mid-market rather than high end and suffered for many years from a perception of being boring and middle-aged. It is best known, and always has been, for reasonably priced, sensible underwear as well as high quality food. They were probably the first to introduce ready meals - and they were well regarded.
Over the past few years, in addition to revitalizing their designs and advertising, Marks & Spencer has launched Simply Food stores, which sell precisely that - simply food. They seem to be successful convenience size/style stores.
Everything sold in Marks & Spencer carries the brand name St Michael. So any introduction of name brands, especially for food, would be very radical. But that is precisely what The Sunday Telegraph reports the retailer to be considering.
According to the paper, Sir Stuart Rose, M&S chief executive, said a team of managers at the company's head office was working on initiatives assessing whether the sale of branded food and cosmetics would help drive sales growth and be supported by M&S customers. Amongst the brands being considered are Chanel and Heinz.
"Provided it doesn't bring the [M&S] brand into disrepute, we will consider it," Mr. Rose told The Sunday Telegraph, adding, "when a customer comes in to one of our stores and wants to buy make-up we are basically saying to her: 'Sorry madam, you have to go across the road.'"
He added, "I am a big fan of Tabasco, but when I want to buy some Tabasco I have to go to Sainsbury's."
Another possibility mentioned is opening cosmetics and perfume shop-in-shops across the UK through a tie-up with French beauty retailer Sephora, owned by luxury group LVMH. This project has been under discussion for some time and would increase the chain's presence in the UK's £6bn cosmetics market, where it now has only a small market share.
M&S plans to reveal whether it plans to add brands when it releases full-year results in May.
Discussion questions: What are the pros and cons of bringing other brands into a store whose reputation and reliability are based on its own proprietary brands? Might they be getting hurt at this point by not carrying well-known labels?
[Author's note] In 1884 Michael Marks, a Russian born Polish refugee, opened a stall at Kirkgate Market, Leeds and instructed customers that there was no need to ask the price because "everything costs a penny." Marks & Spencer now has more than 600 stores in the UK and 240 stores worldwide, including over 219 franchise businesses, operating in 34 countries. The St Michael brand name was introduced in 1928.