Belinda Earl, style director of Marks & Spencer, has over 20 million customers to keep happy. And she knows very well that however enthused the fashion critics may get over limited-edition, catwalk-referencing pieces most of those 20 million do not want a pink coat.
But fashion matters at M&S, because womenswear occupies a talismanic position in the business. Fashion images reach a far greater audience, via media and social media, than other product categories, and fashion is a key motivating factor in luring the overwhelmingly female customer base into store or online. What's more, the fickle nature of the contemporary fashion consumer who can take her pick from a highly competitive British high street means that sales figures for womenswear respond smartly to change, and are swift to show whether the store is getting it right.
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