Marks & Spencer to Launch New Brand Concept 'your M&s'

MARKS & SPENCER TO LAUNCH NEW BRAND CONCEPT 'YOUR M&S'

Marks & Spencer has formulated a new brand concept, 'Your M&S', which will be used across advertising and in stores from September. According to the company, its core brand is trusted, but seen as middle-class and boring, while its sub-brands are seen as over-diversified and show a lack of confidence.

The new brand is an attempt to create a co-ordinated message across all categories and reconnect with the company's core customers. 'Your M&S' will replace other straplines, such as 'Food Love' and promises to showcase the best of Marks & Spencer's products, using simple photographic imagery for clothing, food and home. Although customers have been referring to the retailer as 'M&S' for years, this is the first time the company has referred to itself by its initials. 'Marks & Spencer' will remain on the store facia and the corporate identity will not be changed. ''Your M&S is designed to rekindle the positive, emotional relationship our customers have with Marks & Spencer and remind them that we sell great quality products at good prices'' said Steve Sharp, Marks & Spencer's director of marketing. "Only Marks & Spencer has the place in people's hearts and minds to be able to invite them to 'own' the brand in this way.''

The new brand is part of a broad-ranging review of the company's flagging retail operations spearheaded by new chief executive Stuart Rose. Other moves include the decision to cut 500 food lines and number of clothing lines. The company also plans to simplify management, cut costs and reduce stock levels and forward commitments. The number of distracting initiatives is to be reduced, and the first evidence of this is the decision to close the Lifestore in Gateshead next January. Rose described the Lifestore as 'a bold experiment but one that no longer fits into the company's strategy for the future.' We can certainly expect further experiments from the company as it attempts to reassert itself as one of the great retail brands and dodge any future takeover attempts.