M&S expands online platform with more guest brands

British retailer Marks & Spencer is to add more guest clothing and footwear brands to its website, including FatFace and Jones Bootmaker, after an initial wave of brands increased traffic and attracted new customers.

M&S Chief Executive Steve Rowe said last year the group, still Britain's biggest clothing retailer by value, was shifting strategy and would sell other brands to broaden its appeal.

In January, M&S purchased the Jaeger brand and in March launched 'Brands at M&S', selling labels such as Hobbs, White Stuff and Joules on its online platform. Over the summer kidswear brands were added to the platform including Clarks shoes and stationery brand Smiggle.

Other new brands launched on Monday include Albaray, Celtic & Co, Craghoppers and Frugi.

Brand Director at Craghoppers, James McNamara, said: "We have been very focused on making our technical outdoor clothing as sustainable as possible and it's certainly paying off by being chosen by M&S to be their first outdoor clothing offering. We firmly believe that our mix of sustainability, style and performance will resonate well with current and future customers of M&S."

"Early results on brands driving frequency have been encouraging, with traffic on M&S.com increasing and new customers who buy into a guest brand returning to make their second purchase nearly 10 days sooner than those who didn’t buy into brands," M&S said. Importantly, brands also continue to attract new customers," it said.

Whilst ‘Brands at M&S’ is predominantly an online offer, M&S plans to extend an in-store trial to five stores. Rowe believes the COVID-19 pandemic has masked progress the 137-year-old M&S has made in its latest attempt at a turnaround after decades of failures.

Last month Chairman Archie Norman said the group will surprise people with its financial performance.

Additional reporting by Sandra Halliday