After a stellar 2023, it should come as no surprise that M&S was the big Christmas winner this year, notching up market-leading growth in grocery as well as a strong performance in clothing and home.
In some ways this should be a given. The upmarket retailer should be the big festive destination, for if people can’t treat themselves at Christmas, when can they?
However, as boss Stuart Machin emphasised about it’s food business, “it’s not just for Christmas”.
Machin was at odds to point out that it wasn’t just M&S Christmas specials, the centrepiece turkey or mouthwatering party food, that was flying off the shelves over the golden quarter – its core grocery offer was also soaring too.
Categories like meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen foods, and household items grew “more or less double digit” on last Christmas with core grocery up a whopping 24% on last year.
“That just demonstrates that customers are beginning to look to us in our food business for a bigger, fuller shop,” Machin says.
This is a relatively new phenomenon for M&S. As Machin says, “we never used to be well know for core grocery”, but times are changing.
The retailer’s big value push has undoutbedly helped this shift into thinking of M&S for the big shop. Indeed, its ‘Remarksable Value’ offer performed strongly, with sales surging 18% over the golden quarter, and price locked everyday staples rocketing 28%.
However, its quality is core to this too. That’s why its shoppers come to, and trust M&S. In fact, Machin says the mantra across the business is “if in doubt, put quality in”.
“Our food business is becoming a different food business – it’s not just for Christmas”
And let’s not forget the ace up M&S’s sleeve – its store renewal programme, which is seeing it move to bigger, better stores.
This involves launching new flagships – stores like the Liverpool One, Leeds White Rose and Birmingham Bullring that have opened in former Debenhams sites over the past year – as well as giving existing stores a much-needed makeover.
These stores are encouraging people to buy more from M&S, and that’s in food as well as fashion.
Machin says: “Bigger and better stores are beginning to translate into bigger baskets, better brand perception and we’re attracting more customers.”
Having recently visited M&S’ newly opened Birmingham store, it’s easy to see why.
From the wider aisles to the expansive food hall and the surprisingly stylish visual merchandising, its store estate is one well functioning cog boosting the wider business.
Machin believes these stores will be key for M&S to pull off its ambitious target of growing its market share in both food and clothing and home by 1%.
And it’s already making headway, with “good momentum” in January and volume outgrowing its expectations.
“We’ve seen customers come back to us in January and shop those core categories. The volumes are strong,” says Machin.
It’s perhaps a similar story in clothing. Although M&S was “the place to buy some glamour and sparkle” over Christmas, with more than 60,000 velvet suits and 150,000 sequin products sold, its strong value lines such as £10 bra or £18 jeans, have made sure that shoppers have come back to M&S in the new year.
“I think just focusing on the core everyday items has resonated in these first couple of weeks,” Machin says.
So, cheers to M&S, not only for conquering Christmas but for pulling off a remark(s)able success story that extends far beyond the twinkling lights of the holiday season.
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