The new boss of Marks and Spencer has reorganised the retailer‘s womenswear teams as part of his strategy to revive the ailing clothes department. The changes follow the recent restructuring of the design, buying and merchandising teams, which altered around 200 roles.
Roles including buying have become more generalised across the board, where a buyer would previously have been responsible for one collection, they are now involved in all M&S brands.
The newly appointed Rowe has left analysts confident that M&S will be able to recover the division. In addition to its Rosie Huntington-Whitely, David Gandy and Twiggy ranges, the British retailer recently launched its Alexa Chung collection last week to draw in a younger audience although the success of the launch is yet to be seen. Rowe cites that M&S clothing is his “number one priority” and more changes are yet to be made.
“Our womenswear teams are now organised by product type rather than by brand and range. This better reflects the way our customers shop with us and puts our customers‘ view at the heart of our product decision making.
“In simple terms, it means that there will be one team responsible for designing and buying all of one type of product for our customers. For example, all of our trousers, whether they are M&S Collection, Autograph or per una, will be bought by the same team,” an M&S spokesperson said.
The adjustments are aimed at moving womenswear in line with consumer shopping habits. No jobs have been lost as a result of the restructuring.
