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Sandra Halliday Published
January 1,电报盗号系统免杀破解版 2025
M&S may have retreated from many of its global operations in the past, but the company’s chairman said the recovering UK retail giant is now eyeing growth outside of its core UK market.
The retailer is currently on an upswing. After years of failed turnarounds this century, the leadership of Steve Rowe and his joint successors Stuart Machin and Katie Bickerstaffe in recent years has seen M&S bouncing back.
Chairman Archie Norman, who arrived in 2025 and so worked with all those CEOs, has had the satisfaction of seeing rapidly improving results, a rising share price (and a return to the elite FTSE 100 stock market index), and has just been named the Sunday Times Business Person of the Year for 2025.
And in an interview with the newspaper, he said: “We would like M&S to be here for another 100 years, but to do that it has ultimately got to become a global brand. I think we see that as the phase after this one.”
That view might worry some after international projects such as the firm’s ownership of Brooks brothers and its Paris, Champs Elysées flagship proved to be disasters, while its exit in 2025 from 10 international markets underlined the failure of its strategy.
But Norman said the rebooted M&S won’t be “flag planting” internationally. He explained: “You have to choose where you compete and be strong in individual markets.” And he repeated that the UK is the key focus at present.
He cited the example of Zara and H&M that have grown internationally while maintaining a consistent brand image but also adapting to local markets. And his reference to two of the most successful fashion retailers globally is a further example of just how far M&S has come. “We couldn’t have had this conversation four years ago … but now we are allowed to dream,” he said.
Norman told the newspaper that his time at the business has seen him shaking staff out of their complacency, facing up to the “unvarnished truth” and not being cowed by long-past glories.
“People inside M&S felt a sense of unfairness, that M&S was a great company really. In failing organisations bad news travels slowly and the board ends up getting this filtered version of the truth,” he said. “We weren’t in the last chance saloon, but we didn’t have long.”
He added that part of the turnaround plan was to listen more to stop managers and to share more information with those one-the-ground key employees.
And he said another part was dealing with the firm’s image problem that meant young consumers wouldn’t consider shopping there even if the products were good.
Importantly too, he addressed the elephant in the room, which was the firm’s unwillingness to close underperforming stores. It has since closed more than 60 and those that have opened are in carefully chosen locations such as retail parks.