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M&S boss upbeat about future
According to Sir Stuart Rose, his resolution for this year is "to have more fun". Like many such pledges at this time, it's already turning out to be wishful thinking. Certainly, the Marks & Spencer executive chairman was not in light mood yesterday when he announced grim trading and accompanying job losses.
- By Chris Blackhurst, Evening Standard
- Published: 23:31 January 12, 2009
- Stuart Rose, lauded for reviving the retailer a year ago, has defended himself from a storm of recent criticism.
- Image Credit: Reuters
According to Sir Stuart Rose, his resolution for this year is "to have more fun". Like many such pledges at this time, it's already turning out to be wishful thinking.
Certainly, the Marks & Spencer executive chairman was not in light mood on Monday when he announced grim trading and accompanying job losses.
Life is tough at M&S, so this was pragmatic, downbeat Stuart. It's the same hard-nosed Rose who turned established custom on its head and held one-day 20 per cent-off sales in the run-up to Christmas. He didn't want to do it but he had no choice. M&S had to shift unwanted stock.
Even now, more than four years after he took charge, the City does not know what to make of Rose. There's the "corporate Pierce Brosnan, the catalogue-model older man", as he was once described.
The "dandy Rose" who "could charm the City and look pretty in pictures while I would do the hard work", said a former colleague.
Then there's the Rose who has displayed a ruthless edge, shaking up M&S management, bringing in his own, small, loyal team and propelling himself to the point where he is both chairman and chief executive of the retailing behemoth.
There's no doubting his ability to talk the talk - witnessing him in action, observing his twinkly eyed appreciation of a woman's clothes, their fine detail and where and why she bought them is something to behold.
But that intuitive feel, which saw women queuing for his autograph when he first arrived and still sees them swoon when he tours the shops, has not translated into unqualified sales success. They may worship him but his fashions have not flown off the rails in sufficient numbers.
The City, while also holding his motivational powers in high regard, would like to see him walk the walk. If only that love of brocade and a hemline could translate into spreadsheets and profits, then they would be happier.
However, the growing realisation with Rose is that you can't have it all. Compared to his predecessors, he was a breath of fresh air. Today he still exudes the elan they lacked, and it's very easy to forget just how moribund M&S had become.
He gave the corporation new life and purpose. His slogans and use of celebrity models were captivating. They didn't just sell food, they sold M&S food. It really was Twiggy in the adverts. M&S, he kept telling us confidently, had a "Plan A because there is no Plan B".
It was smart and cocky, and for a store group that seemed mired in a bygone age, totally revolutionary. There is a sense, though, that the momentum has now stalled; a feeling that confidence has wavered.
That has created the picture of a group that doesn't know what it is - not unlike Rose's own description of himself, perhaps, as "half-genius or half-mad".
However, the company that this year will make less profit than it did in 2004, and by some margin. When Rose took over, M&S was making £784 million; this year, analysts are pencilling in £540 million to £570 million.
During that time, don't forget, Rose has managed to gain promotion, which is some achievement. However, it leaves him extremely vulnerable.
Store roll-outs have slowed. "They can't afford to do them," said Nick Bubb, retailing analyst at Pali International. "The existing store refurbishments have been pretty disappointing. They've not moved them on very far compared with what New Look, Next and Zara are doing."
The danger is that the rest of the High Street, especially in fashion, will pass M&S by and the group will go into the sort of reverse it was experiencing when he arrived. Possibly, says Bubb, Rose was "too bullish".
In November 2007, he was talking of a strong Christmas, a huge capital expenditure programme and a healthy dividend. Soon after, he came down to earth, having to issue a profits warning. The City wasn't impressed and he has been on the back foot ever since.
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