Marks & Spencer – Too Little, Too Late?

Marks & Spencer – Too Little, Too Late?

November 1955: A middle-aged woman browses through the clothing department of a Marks and Spencer ... [+] store. Original Publication: Picture Post - 8437 - Scientific Shopping - unpub. (Photo by Charles Hewitt/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)



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As it's loyalty card is relaunched, does the strategy for it's loyalty card highlight a common challenge for Marks and Spencer?



Marks and Spencer have certainly had their fair share of uncomfortable headlines of late. A business that many see as a shadow of it's former glory, it's clothing division has lost market share for two decades.  In 1997 it was at the dizzy height of peak clothing market share with 13.5% of the UK market, yet since then it's market share has been on the decline.



The focus in strategy has certainly been to hero it's food offer, rolling out it's Simply Food offer & ensuring to reach new customers via stores in essential travel destinations & ports - from UK Service stations to train stations.



Marks and Spencer has a signifcant store portfolio in the UK & thus a lot of retail space. It has been on a drastic store closure programme since 2016. Over 50 stores have