Marks and Spencer 2006 Annual Report Download - page 12

Our ‘Portofino’ rattan-style
furniture has been developed
for all-weather use, combining
style with convenience and
durability, making them perfect
for the patio.
Our DD-G range, which is
already one of the widest on
the high street, will be extended
further this year to include new
styles and colours.
10 Marks and Spencer Group plc
a comprehensive online offer. This focus
on providing what our customers really
want meant that performance improved
across the year.
As we worked to give customers what
they wanted in Childrenswear, our market
share slipped apart from in school clothes
and babywear.
In November, to improve our performance,
we placed Babywear and Girlswear under
the control of our Womenswear team, and
Boys and Toddler clothes under the
management of Menswear. One of the first
signs of change was the new fashion range,
‘Girls Boutique’ for 7-14 year olds, which
had a good first season.
Outstanding value across our ranges
Offering customers outstanding value –
great quality at great prices – at all points
across our price hierarchy continued to be a
key priority. We adjusted our pricing
structure, raising the proportion of products
we offer at opening prices from an average
of 17% in 2004/05 to 31% at the year end.
We continued to re-establish our value
credentials. We introduced new offers
such as the £5 women’s t-shirt and £6 bra,
the £50 career girl suit, £9 men’s jeans
and fleeces.
In Home, we introduced a whole new value
range, including a three-steamer set for
£9.50 and a £15 bale of six towels. This
was well received by customers and
resulted in a significant increase in the
volume of sales.
We used the autumn ‘Your M&S For Less’
advertising campaign to emphasise our
competitive pricing from basic items to more
desirable clothes and fabrics, like linen.
We also increased the number of products
offered at the top end of the price
spectrum. In Womenswear, we now use the
‘Autograph’ label across our ranges to
distinguish extra special clothes made from
the highest quality silks, lace, linen and
cashmere. We expect ‘Autograph’ to
become one of the biggest UK luxury
women’s brands by the end of 2006/07.
Better buying, better product
Our Buying Academy, set up in 2005,
trained our 900 buyers, designers and
merchandisers during the year to ensure
that we maintain tight control on all aspects
of buying.
We set challenging weekly targets to control
stock levels at every part of the supply
chain, to improve availability and reduce
levels of marked down product.
We also reduced the number of products
we had to return to the manufacturer
because of faults to the lowest level since
our records began in 1988.
We are getting new product to stores more
quickly and effectively from around the
world – in just six weeks for some fast
fashion lines.
We are also buying with more confidence,
making sure that products we think
customers will love are available in sufficient
quantity when they want them.
Womenswear chased new trends and fast
sellers by using an uncommitted ‘Open To
Buy’ budget. Last autumn, we caught the
GETTING
THE LOOK
Powerful advertising
created huge demand for
iconic items like ‘the Twiggy
cardigan’, but customers say
that they sometimes like help
in co-ordinating outfits.
We have introduced
‘Get the Look’ zones in
all stores, using mannequins
to show which tops and
belts work best with new
trends like skinny jeans,
for instance. We rotate the
look every fortnight.
The new ‘Girls Boutique’
range has gone a step further
with special labels and ‘Get
the Look’ books to help girls
layer and co-ordinate the
latest fashions.