Marks & Spencer is increasing its stock of smaller sizes in women’s clothing after a surge in demand left gaps on the shelves.
Stuart Machin, chief executive of the high street stalwart, said three years ago about a fifth (21%) of items sold from the main season collection were sizes 6 to 10, which has now risen to 35% as its “fashion”. and style ranges [were] resonating with a different customer group’.
Even outside of these trendier ranges, sales of smaller sizes now represent about 23% of the mix, up from about 20% three years ago.
In response to a shopper’s complaint at the retailer’s annual general meeting — that there weren’t enough smaller sizes in stock — Machin said Tuesday that he personally looked at orders for the smaller sizes to make sure there would be more and “if we sell out in the fall/winter we will do very well”.
The demand for smaller sizes reflects the growing popularity of M&S, which was once mainly carried by the over-50s, with shoppers in their 20s, 30s and 40s tending to be slimmer on average.
A spokesman for M&S, which stocks women’s clothing from size 6 to size 24, said: “We are not moving away from larger sizes, it is more about responding better to demand and ensuring we have the right size mix and availability for everyone. our customers – which is something we haven’t always been able to do.”
In May, Machin said more under-30s were buying M&S underwear than ever before, helping to boost the product category’s market share to a new high of 38%.
That broader appeal helped the revitalized retailer win more than 1 million extra customers and boost profits by 41% in the year to March 30.
The retailer tried to improve its fashion credentials and reach a new generation of shoppers using social media, including training its own employees as influencers. It has also acquired younger names than those traditionally used in advertising campaigns, such as Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Zawe Ashton.
Ties with celebrities like Sienna Miller, the 42-year-old actress known for her style, were also important. M&S reported that 10 is the most popular size in Miller’s range and 32% of items in its spring and summer campaign were in sizes 6 to 10.
On the M&S website, six of the 19 pieces of clothing available in Miller’s collection are sold out in sizes 6 to 10
Pippa Stephens, senior apparel analyst at GlobalData, said M&S’s decision to start stocking external brands such as Nobody’s Child and Sweaty Betty on its website had helped increase its appeal to younger customers, while its own-label clothing designs now had a “more fashionable shapes”. and prints”.
But she said it could also be because a larger number of older shoppers are now fitter and “more aware of exercise and healthy eating”.
Machin has also revamped M&S grocery stores to appeal more to young families, with the Essential range featuring cheaper staples, larger packs and enough items to do a full week’s shopping.
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Dozens of investors attended M&S’s annual meeting at its Paddington headquarters, though far fewer than the sprawling gatherings the FTSE-listed company was once known for when shoppers often berated it over sleeve length, panty elastic and other issues.
During the pandemic, M&S switched to holding meetings online, but said it was now committed to a hybrid arrangement.
At the meeting, the retailer had to defend its use of agency workers such as cleaners, who are not guaranteed at least a real living wage, unlike the main workshop staff employed directly by M&S.
Machin and M&S chairman Archie Norman also defended the decision to cut the lifetime employee discount. Employees who had worked at the retailer for at least ten years previously received a 20% discount, but on July 1, M&S extended the length of service to 25 years.
Machin said he decided to make the change after discovering 50,000 people who had left M&S were able to claim the discount, which he said was making profits.