General Chat

My (male) friend loves M & S T-shirts, but every time he goes in there, they haven't got his size (small). Apparently there's 'no demand' for smaller sizes - there's customer service for you - not :-|
Friend pointed out that he would like one or two - isn't that demand?
He was then told he could go online and buy one.

No he couldn't - he hasn't got a computer .

When I buy trousers, they are always from M&S. Have done for years.

Now I wonder why. There is too much fabric in the back thigh, and the lengths are all to cock, as Ann has stated.

I had to alter three pairs bought recently, tailoring the legs to fit, and shortening, the already Short length I had bought. I may aswell have made a pair from scratch, because of the work involved. Anybody less experienced, could not have coped with the job. It is only the inability to be able to source appropriate fabric, that I do not make my own, as I used to do.
I rather feel that unless they listen to somebody, their profits will be down also, for their next trading period.

Julia in Derbyshire

I have to say the white T shirt I bought has fairly long, short sleeves, not elbow length but definitely not cap. :-)

Im not really sure who they are aiming their clothes at nowadays :-(

The Classic styles are not there, nor anything for my age group 30s-50s or for the youngsters or MIL age group. Even the childrens things are not as good as they were 20 odd years ago.

They have really lost their way I think. I was in there today and was out just as quickly.

Teresa

They have been trying to shake it up for years, so nothing is new, but seem to have a big problem listening to what their customers actually want.

For some reason they seem to want to try and attract the younger customer. This is a big mistake. Apart from buying their utility work underwear, no one under 30 would be seen dead in there. At least that is what my two son's partners tell me.

Their core market is probably the over thirties and upwards. You only have to look who is in the shop to see that. The sad thing is that their target market appears to have money to spend but find nothing to spend it on in the shop..

Per una when launched was a joke. The designers and buyers were from another planet. It has improved but a lot of the stock is still inappropriate for it's target market, and prices are on the high side.

On the men's front, when I was working, I used to buy suits and shirts but since retiring, find their selection of more casual clothes to be poor. Quality has also gone down over the years too.

Wife and I still go in there but unless we have gone for something specific, more than often leave without buying anything.

I have not brought clothes except undies from M&S for years. Still love food and houshold stuff.

I like a lot of the Per Una clothes but the other stuff is quite bland and ordinary. I had a look at the new summer clothes this week and wasn't much impressed.

Love the food, though, do a lot of food shopping there.

M&S :-(

I think the quality has gone down and the prices have gone up. :-(

I think they are aiming at the wrong age group.

The kids don't like the fluorescent colours, and probably wouldn't shop there anyway.............they would go to Topshop, New Look or Primark.

Why they don't cater for the Baby Boomers I don't know. It is this age group that supposedly have the dosh to spend.

Thankyou everyone for your comments on this thread. Most of us agree that M&S need to woo back the mature customer, who are only too willing spend in their stores. There are still some good areas, but they could do so much more.

Come on, M&S, it's up to you!

Lynda :-)

What they have to realise, is that the 'more mature' of us don't particularly like replicas of the crimplene dresses our mother's wore, neither do we like showing our midriffs or builder's bums!!
Give me a waistline on my waist, not a waistline that pushes up & emphasises the muffin top, and has to be constantly 'hoicked' up :-|