M&S expects to fully recover from April’s cyberattack by August, chief executive Stuart Machin has confirmed.
Speaking at the retailer’s annual general meeting, Machin told shareholders that online services are expected to be fully restored within weeks, with other affected systems also due to return.
“I’m really hoping by August, the majority of this is behind us, and customers will see the full M&S,” he said, as reported by Reuters.
The attack, which forced the retailer to pause online orders and disrupted services such as click and collect and contactless payments, is estimated to have cost the business around £300m.
It also led to a data breach involving staff information, although M&S said no sensitive details such as passwords or home addresses were accessed.
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The cyberattack has been linked to hacking group Scattered Spider, which has also been associated with other UK and US-based retail breaches.
Chairman Archie Norman said systems were being brought back online each week and suggested executive bonuses could be impacted depending on the financial hit.
“The financial effect of this will be taken into account with regards to incentive pay, but it’s too early to say,” he told shareholders.
M&S began reopening its online store last month, with a selection of fashion and homeware available for delivery to England, Scotland and Wales.
It follows similar incidents at other retailers including Co-op, which temporarily shut down parts of its IT infrastructure earlier this year following a cyberattack.
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