LONDON — Marks & Spencer is marking its 100th anniversary with a trip around the world, a turn on the London Fashion Week runway — and a multimillion-pound facelift.
The food and clothing giant may be a grande dame of British retail, but she’s got a new spring in her step under chief executive officer Stuart Machin. The retailer has been expanding internationally, forging a partnership with Nordstrom in the U.S., and refreshing its store format.
The M&S Pantheon flagship on Oxford Street is the first to showcase the new interiors and merchandising concept, and it’s something special.
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The 100,000-square-foot store, which spans four floors and is housed in the 18th-century Pantheon building, feels lighter and more streamlined than before with white floors and walls, warmer lighting and more space to move around.
The old supermarket-style, functional interiors are gone, and in their place are sleek architectural details, a scattering of midcentury modern furniture and colorful LED screens broadcasting the M&S seasonal campaigns.
There’s also a vast footwear area where people can sit down and try on a pair of shoes in peace, while the lingerie department showcases different styles of bras and underwear. Pajama sets, nightgowns and slips are all hung on delicate curving racks in the center of the room.
The beauty area is bigger and better merchandised, too, with brands including Sunday Riley — a new arrival — K-beauty brand Biodance, Nuxe and Clinique. Nearby there is an area dedicated to the M&S Studio fragrances, which have names like Darkest Vanilla, Tonka Tabac and Salted Haze, priced at 22.50 pounds for a 100ml bottle.
Customer service has moved to the next level, too.
The menswear area offers a bespoke service that starts at 350 pounds. Customers can have black-tie, wedding, and everyday suits made at the store, pick out buttons, and even try on shoes as they put together a look that could rival some of the styles on nearby Savile Row.
M&S said it will use the new store to “test and learn,” with successful features rolled out across the wider estate over time.
M&S is investing 90 million pounds in its London store portfolio as part of a multiyear project, and Pantheon is one of 10 stores that M&S is refurbishing, or opening, in the capital this financial year. It is investing a further 50 million pounds in its store refurbishments across the northwest of England.
Machin said M&S has been on the Pantheon site since 1938, while this week the store has become “the first full-line flagship and our R&D store for fashion, home and beauty. It’s where we’re testing how we make shopping our ranges easier, more curated and more inspiring, from clearer product moments to how the store looks and feels overall.”
He said the store is “a good example of our strategy to protect the magic and modernize the rest, holding on to the quality, style and value people know and trust us for, while making the experience more modern. We’ve still got a lot to do modernizing our estate — with 25 years of catching up to do. But Pantheon is a big step forward.”
In addition to men’s and women’s wear, the Pantheon store stocks children’s, baby and home collections. There is an M&S x Kelly Hoppen homeware edit as well as a bespoke area designed by Hoppen herself.
The food hall, which is located downstairs, was refurbished last year and has a market-style setup, fresh pizza on offer and a large selection of premium food and wine.
As reported, M&S plans to ramp up its 100-year anniversary celebrations with a London Fashion Week see now, buy now show of fall womenswear and menswear in September. The range will be available for purchase online, in M&S flagships in the U.K. and in key international markets.
As reported, M&S has also partnered with Nordstrom to sell a selection of womenswear from the Per Una, Collection and other in-house labels. The clothing is selling online and through 30 Nordstrom stores from Los Angeles to New York. M&S has also forged a fashion wholesale partnership with David Jones in Australia.