Marks and Spencer Group PLC is something of a great British institution, having started life in 1884 as a stall at Kirkgate Market in Leeds. Fast-forward to 2025 and the business, under the leadership of chairman Archie Norman and CEO, Stuart Machin, is enjoying something of a renaissance. The share price currently stands at 343p and is up 345% over the last five years on group revenue of £13 billion ($16 billion) compared with £10.1 billion ($12.6 billion) in 2020.
However, it wasn’t always so; for years M&S struggled, lurching from one crisis to another, taxing the abilities of even the most experienced of operators such as past chairman Lord Stuart Rose.
