Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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J u n e 2 0 1 5 / S C T 19 Significant as such growth invari- ably is, these past three years have been transformative for the company. Parent Marks & Spencer Group has repositioned its food business for more specialization, relaunched clothing lines for quality and style, upgraded stores, rolled out a website and accelerated its global store expan- sion. These changes are intended to a r k S & S P e n c e r is a storied tradition in British retail, with origins stretching back well over a century. These days the London-based company is writing a new chapter as it works to strengthen its position as a multichannel retail company. The company got its start in 1884, when Michael Marks opened a market stall at the Leeds kirkgate Market. Later Thomas Spencer joined Marks, and together they built an international fashion, general merchandise and food retailer with nearly 1,250 stores worldwide, annual revenues in excess of $15.1 billion and some 85,000 employees. strengthen the company in the face of an increasingly competitive apparel market in europe and worldwide. The company's food division is strong, but its core apparel business, particularly women's wear, has struggled with de- clining sales these past four years, says Paul Thomas, a senior consultant at London-based retail remedy. Further, the core Marks & Spencer customer is aging, so the company has been work- ing harder to reach younger shoppers. "M&S; is a huge, huge company," said Thomas. "It's almost like the cli- ché of trying to turn around a super- tanker: It takes a while to stop it and turn it in another direction." and yet, he says, the retailer does appear to have steadied the ship. For the fiscal fourth quarter (ended March 28), the com- pany reported a general merchandise M Sparks flying again Deft management has restoreD the fortunes of marks & spencer By Beth Mattson-Teig r e T a i l i n g T o d a y & s P e n c e r ' s l a r g e s T s T o r e T o d a T e o P e n e d l a s T y e a r i n T .