M&S boss Marc Bolland: 'The brand is bigger than the company'

M&S last week revealed a 1.3% fall in sales of its non-food items in the last quarter, despite relaunching its womenswear clothing range in September with the high-profile campaign starring Dame Helen Mirren and Tracey Emin.

Writing in today’s Daily Telegraph, Bolland said the retailer "solid building blocks for the future", including developing its ecommerce proposition and expanding its international presence.

He defended the brand’s recent "relaunch" ad campaign, describing it as "an important step forward" for M&S, and argued it was making the right "step-by-step" progress, which would transform its general merchandise offering.

Bolland wrote: "M&S is a brand in the public eye. Everyone has a keen interest in how we behave and we benefit from extraordinary levels of public trust and goodwill.

"Inevitably and rightly, we are subject to high levels of scrutiny as we earn that trust. When I took the role at M&S, I felt that the brand is bigger than the company and I’d love the opportunity to build the brand further.

"Over the past 130 years, M&S has been most successful when it has taken large steps forward. I want to build solid building blocks for the future.

"We are tackling two decades of underinvestment in IT systems and logistics network, overhauling these systems to provide a firm foundation for the company, as well as focusing on ecommerce and international."

Last week, M&S unveiled a fairytale-inspired Christmas ad, featuring Rosie Huntington-Whitely, David Gandy and Helena Bonham-Carter.

The article first appeared on www.marketingmagazine.co.uk