Marks and Spencer 2007 Annual Report Download - page 17

of this, offering affordable luxury from cashmere loungewear to
Timothy Everest suits.
We can give ‘Autograph’ more authority. Already worth
£275m across clothing and home, we aim to double its value
in the next three years. The launch of ‘Autograph Weekend’ –
smart-casual clothes for women – will help us achieve that.
‘Limited Collection’, like ‘Ceriso’ in lingerie, is attracting younger
customers. Along with girls’ ranges such as ‘Girls Boutique’, it
is bought on an eight-week cycle from Turkey, to keep stores
fresh with up-to-the-minute trends. However, we have not
always offered new product frequently enough and we’re taking
action on this with a new three-weekly buying cycle and by
backing key trends in more depth.
Our much improved children’s ranges include organic cotton
babywear, trendier outfits for girls and plenty of popular
character t-shirts for boys. The enhanced childrenswear offer is
an important part of our efforts to provide great value clothing
for all the family.
Greater fashion appeal is very important. But we haven’t
forgotten our customers who want classic style. We’ve extended
our ‘Classic Collection’ – which now spans sizes 8 to 24 – and
also introduced a new ‘Golf’ range of sport-styled casual
clothes for men and women.
It is vital that our core departments – like women’s formal
trousers and men’s shirts – remain easy to shop with good
availability. Our ‘Petite’ and ‘Plus’ ranges for women are helping
us meet the needs of a diverse customer base. The new
wedding range, which we launched in March with outfits for the
whole wedding party, and our extended maternity range have
both helped fill important gaps in our offer. We are extending
this work through our website, providing the widest range of
colours, styles and sizes.
We have also added to our home offer. Our technology shops,
which we introduced to 12 stores and online in September,
and to our Croydon store after the year end, offer a carefully
selected range of branded goods from music systems to
microwaves, all with easy to follow instructions. Everything
comes with a two-year guarantee except for our large televisions,
which come with a five-year guarantee and free installation.
We intend to add this offer to more stores during 2007/08.
Outlook
It’s encouraging to see how customers have responded to
the changes we’ve made across our clothing and home
departments. But they have made it clear they expect us to
keep improving. With competition intensifying, we will be
working closely with our suppliers to do just that.
FAIR PARTNER
We have supported the Breakthrough
Breast Cancer Campaign since 2001
and we are now its largest corporate
partner. We have raised over £6m
in total, including £1.5m in 2006/07,
and helped to educate and inform
customers. In March, we supported
the Prostate Cancer Charity, to raise
£90,000 funds and awareness for
a disease which kills one man every
hour in the UK.
www.marksandspencer.com/annualreport2007 MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP PLC 15
CLIMATE CHANGE
Later this year, we will introduce a new
‘green home’ department selling
products – like energy efficient
lightbulbs, hand-charged dynamo
torches and household composters –
to help people live greener lives as part
of our commitments under Plan A. As
we add to this exciting range, we’ll
look to sell bigger items through the
website.
CHOICE
We want every one of our
customers to find something
they love every time they visit,
whether that be the perfect
‘Autograph’ cashmere jumper or
a trend-led item from ‘Limited
Collection’ or ‘per una’. We also
filled gaps with new offers such
as our range of bridal and
occasionwear with everything
from wedding dresses to morning
suits, launched in March 2007.
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