In 2007/08 we strengthened our position as the number one brand for womenswear and lingerie, despite a tough second half, by doing what we do best. From classic and tailored looks, to fast fashion inspired from the catwalk, we demonstrated that ‘Every Woman, Every Time’ is at the heart of our womenswear and lingerie plan. In short, it’s our commitment to help every woman – regardless of her age, size and budget – to find stylish clothes that are beautifully made, at great value prices.

Our performance

During the year, value market share in womenswear fell from 11.3% to 11.1% in the face of tough competition on the high street, strong downward pressure on prices, and a slowdown in customer spending. However, volume market share remained steady at 10.0%. We achieved this by looking closely at our price structure to ensure our competitiveness at opening price points. In lingerie, the continual introduction of innovative products in an extended range of sizes, as well as better segmentation of our brands, helped us stay at number one with 24.8% value market share and 17.9% volume market share.

An easier way to shop

In 2007/08, as part of our ‘Every Woman, Every Time’ commitment, we reviewed the segmentation of our sub-brands, so that we can help our customers quickly and easily find what they’re looking for. Although this will continue in 2008/09, improvements can already be seen within Autograph (see case study) and lingerie.

Competing on value and quality

During the last year, we responded to market demand by becoming even more competitive at our opening price points. While this increased both our sales volume and market share volume, we recognise the opportunity to drive our ‘better’ and ‘best’ ranges – with particular emphasis on building on the success of Autograph.

We offer knitwear at prices from £9 to £49 and bras from £5 to £20, and will continue to do so. However, we want our customers to recognise our reputation for offering incredible quality and excellent cuts across all of our price points.

Clearer choices in lingerie

Selling 50 million knickers a year (that’s nearly two pairs of knickers every second), and 25 million bras – it’s estimated that one in three women wear M&S lingerie. To meet the underwear needs and tastes of every woman, we have in the past introduced a wide range of different brands.

As part of our segmentation work, we reviewed our lingerie brands, matching them to our different customer profiles, before fine-tuning our offer – cutting out duplication and filling in any gaps. We now offer five brands – Adored, Autograph, Body Solutions, Limited Collection and per una.

The move to fewer brands in lingerie has given women of all ages, sizes and budgets, a clearer choice. It’s also helped us to focus on good basics at our opening price points, as well as great value across the entire offer.

Faster, fresher fashions

The journey from catwalk to high street is faster than ever, with customers expecting something new and different each time they come into store. Satisfying this increasing demand poses a major challenge for any retailer.

In response, we’ve adopted a phased approach to introducing new stock, which means that 25% of our womenswear will be new every five to six weeks. Within that, we have brands that release new products into stores on a three-week cycle. To make this quicker turnaround possible, we are now buying collections in two of our major brands (Limited Collection and Autograph Weekend), from our suppliers in Turkey, just eight weeks ahead.

per una

It was another strong year for per una. The brand enjoyed its seventh successive year of growth with sales of £429m in womenswear and lingerie. Growth came from a number of key product areas, including cardigans, dresses, jeans, macs and coats. Our capital expenditure programme positively impacted on per una sales, with the store modernisation and expansion programme increasing per una footage by 15% for the year. Online sales grew by 153%, and International sales by 40% for the year.

Per una’s point of difference in today’s retail climate, is in giving styles the per una ‘twist’. From the lining, to the buttons, to the trims – the per una twist is the detail that makes its customers feel special. This was seen in the reintroduction of suiting, where the emphasis was on special details and quality fabrics that are part of per una’s distinct style. Following the success of suiting, per una will introduce Speziale Tailoring later in 2008.

Another key moment in 2007/08 was the launch of a 25-piece capsule collection called GD25, inspired by George Davies’ 25-year career as a fashion innovator.

Looking ahead

In 2007/08 we introduced great value at our opening price points in both womenswear and lingerie and in doing so made good progress in attracting customers in the under-35 age range.

2008/09 will be a tough year. It will be more important than ever to continually improve our ranges across all our price points, and to ensure we’re responding to trends by quickly getting new products into store. We’re now working closely with our suppliers to achieve even greater speed and flexibility, ensuring we continue to keep pace with customer demand.

In store it is still important to ensure that the distinctive offering of each of our sub-brands makes the shopping experience an easy one for our customers. In the year ahead, we will push our brands even harder, for instance, by expanding Autograph gifts and introducing Autograph essentials, and by further reducing duplication and filling the gaps in our ranges. Finally, we’ll also be finding new and innovative ways to present womenswear online.