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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Jess Cartner-Morley

When it comes to fashion, M&S is on the right wavelength

A woman walking through the clothes section of an M&S shop
The assurance that size 12 garments across the shopfloor will fit the same measurements is a non-glamorous but eminently sensible advantage of M&S. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Fashion matters at Marks & Spencer. Clothes are an emotional purchase, and when M&S is successfully delivering clothes that its customers desire, it’s a strong sign that the retailer is on the right wavelength. Food may be a much larger part of the business these days but fashion is the bellwether.

The strong sales figures for the past year that M&S revealed on Wednesday have been driven not just by the below-the-radar basics of underwear and T-shirts but in the fashion-forward categories of denim and dresses.

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