While annalisa barbieri applauds Marks’ leap in profits, you won’t find her in their clothes |
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Marks & Spencer has just announced a profit surge to £965m, a figure unprecedented in nine years. The staff will share a bonus of £90m (sadly, not each). This is not just profit, this is M&S profit, and it's impressive.
But while I adore M&S and would do anything to stop it going bankrupt, I must say this success is surprising because its clothes are pretty crap. Not every piece, of course, but on the whole it never gets it quite right.
What it does get right are its ads, which are fantastic; the food ones were pornographic, in a good way, and the fashion ads are inspiring if pedestrian (using instantly recognisable models such as Twiggy and Myleene Klass, right, is hardly daring). Its underwear is wonderful, and the Autograph men's shoes quite rightly sold out almost the moment they hit the shelves. |
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| What M&S does get right are its ads, which are fantastic |
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But the ladies' clothes... The cut is never daring enough, the colours are never quite right. It's as if someone designs something and then their mum comes along and rejigs it slightly, saying 'Not quite such a low neckline, dear, and make the hem a bit longer'.
In all my life, I've never gone into an M&S store and thought 'I simply must have that'. Topshop, Zara and H&M can all inspire and excite and their stock changes so fast (because it sells out quickly, because they get it right) that what started as a chain store buy becomes almost as covetable as a designer piece.
M&S does prints well on occasion, but then you don't really want to wear something that's instantly recognisable as M&S because it doesn't have the cachet - now there's a 1970s word - of the other high street shops.
M&S is like a rich, not very trendy aunt. We all love her, she's comforting and warm and we can't imagine life without her. But none of us really wants to grow up to look like her. 
FIRST POSTED MAY 22, 2007
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