Steve Rowe’s warts-and-all M&S farewell just enhances credibility for investors

That’s the way to do it. Others should try Steve Rowe’s approach to a farewell assessment when stepping down. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Compare and contrast. Here’s Marks & Spencer’s previous chief executive Marc Bolland giving himself a pat on the back when he checked out in 2016: “I have done the heavy lifting that was needed. I am very pleased with what I have done over the last years and think I have built the foundations.”

The declaration of a weightlifting triumph wasn’t convincing at the time, and Bolland’s efforts were soon exposed as a light limbering-up exercise at best. Familiar problems – in fashion, logistics and overseas – re-emerged because they never went away. By 2018, Steve Rowe, the successor now departing himself, launched a “facing the facts” strategy that was plainly overdue.