M&S pins its hopes on fashion – but will its audience buy in?

Despite consistently strong critical response over the past three years, clothing sales are in decline. How can the chain turn its fortunes around?

In the ongoing saga of Marks & Spencer’s financial fortunes, fashion is often said to be the canary in the coalmine. The theory is that the ability of M&S to make the hearts of its core female customer sing – as it did with the pink coat (September 2013) and the suede midiskirt (May 2015) – is a crucial sign of good health for the M&S business as a whole.

The trouble with this theory is that despite consistently strong reviews from fashion critics in the three years since Belinda Earl became style director– and despite, even, the pink coat and the suede midiskirt – clothing sales have now declined for 16 out of the past 17 quarters.