Marks and Spencer - An interview with M&S Head of Menswear Design

A few weeks ago I wrote a letter to M&S expressing frustration, as a life-long consumer, that sales were dropping and they seemed to be off-track. To their huge credit M&S contacted me - I was invited to a recent Summer collection show, where I saw some exciting menswear, much of which I liked to the extent that I am now, once more, a regular visitor to my local M&S (see my post here).

I have had an ongoing dialogue with M&S and Tony O'Connor, Head of Menswear Design, has kindly agreed to answer a few questions; some posed by readers who contacted me after my original letter.

Grey Fox - Tony, many thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions. I know I was a little direct in comments about M&S in my letter published on my blog in January. It's a company that elicits strong views as it's been part of the life of this country for so long. I recall wearing St Michael clothes as a very young child. I was very impressed by the High Summer 2013 Collection, but there has been a feeling that M&S lost its way slightly, a view supported by lower sales figures. How would you respond to that?

Tony O’Connor – We always listen carefully to feedback on our products and how we deliver them to our customers. With over one in ten men in the UK shopping at M&S, we always look to offer our customers the best products – whether it be through trends, fit, quality and innovations. Recent new ranges such as Savile Row Inspired Designed By Richard James collobaration, which focuses on the very best of British tailoring, have been popular with our customers.

GF - I was invited recently to see the men's High Summer 2013 collection, and liked what I saw. How would you describe the collection?

Tony O’Connor – It was great you could attend our show and fantastic that you were impressed by our new summer collections. At the show were able to highlight our key menswear trends across our popular menswear brands for the season including bold colour and retro looks for casual daywear and seventies inspired intricate prints. For more formal occasions, we were showcased statement tailoring in relaxed pastel linens for the ultimate refined sartorial summer style.

It was also a great opportunity for us to highlight our product innovations such as Linen Miracle, Quick Drying Swim Shorts, Lightweight suiting and foldable panamas, making city breaks and summer vacations easier for our customers to pack for – without compromising on quality or style.

GF - I've always thought as M&S being a strong supporter of the UK fashion industry and it used to be possible to buy home-produced fabrics, shirts, jackets and so on. Is M&S taking this approach now?

Tony O’Connor – We’ve recently announced an exciting new exclusive three year partnership with the British Fashion Council. This includes the introduction of two new capsule clothing collections which combine British Heritage, sourcing and production.

GF - The collection I saw contained some beautiful colours, British and Italian fabrics and a wide range of styles. Is your aim to appeal to a wide range of tastes and pockets?

Tony O’Connor – Absolutely. We cater for a broad range of ages, sizes, tastes and budgets. Whether it’s a super slim fit trend-led suiting from £99 that you are after or a more classic British fabric Sartorial suit for £349, we have styles to suit different shapes and styles.

GF - One of the exciting parts of the collection for me is the Savile Row Inspired Designed by Richard James. Could you tell us a little about that?

Tony O’Connor – We’ve actually just celebrated the first anniversary of the collection, which has been designed exclusively for M&S by Richard James, bringing the best of British style to the high street at M&S prices. Our customers have really taken to the sharp block tailoring, fine fabrics and amazing attention to detail that you would expect from the very best on Savile Row. Since its launch, additions to the range have included British Wool statement outerwear, fine knits and footwear. In Spring Summer 13, the range has had a splash of colour with lilac and pink lightweight linen blazers.

GF - One of the comments made to me is that the sales environment in some M&S stores is often not conducive to buying high quality clothes. I gather that steps are being taken to change that; can you tell us more?

Tony O’Connor – Yes, following a successful pilot last year, we’ve been rolling out a new store format to all of our stores, providing a more inspiring shopping experience with clearer brand differentiation and improved navigation. In menswear for example, each of our clothing brands has its own distinct look and identity that allows customers to see which brand best meets their personal style preference. For example, our sports-inspired look for Blue Harbour has an authentic wooden sporting equipment with a large canvas sail, whilst Collezione is Italian inspired with a Vespa bike. You may have seen this new format at our Marble Arch store when you visited the press show, which will be completed at all our stores by the end of 2014.

We’ve also introduced innovative multi-channel technologies which make it easy for our customers to access our entire product range, including browse and order points and customer assistants equipped with iPads.

In selected stores, Savile Row Inspired is housed in a bespoke shop-in-shop creating a fantastic shopping experience for those looking for a premium suiting experience. All of our suiting assistants are highly trained to make sure you get the correct fit suit with an in-store alterations service for those minor changes. Marksandspencer.com has specific menswear sections dedicated to style guides and tips for the fashion conscious customer. All these measures are in place to make M&S an easier place to shop and to make our clothing more inspiring to the consumer.

GF - Tony, thanks very much for your time.

Find M&S Online here. They deliver to 80 international destinations.