When Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer threw open the doors of their first shop in 1894, the pair’s Penny Bazaars famously bore the slogan “Admission Free”, encouraging customers to browse without any obligation to purchase anything.
It might feel counterintuitive, but more than a century later, the message has stuck, as I found walking around all 100,000 sq ft of the super stylish renovation of the Marks and Spencer Pantheon Oxford Street store. There is a crackle in the air following this major upgrade. The womenswear displays are more akin to the sort you might find in Harvey Nichols, and the produce presentation is what you’d expect to see in an upmarket food hall in Whole Foods or Selfridges.
