UK's M&S expands kidswear 'Brands at M&S' presence

M&S is known for its trusted-quality, durable school uniform. As the go-to retailer for Back-to-School, it is building on the strength of its in-house offering and making it easier to remember the extras by providing a carefully curated choice of third-party brands which appeal to its customers. The brands offer convenient in store services, such as free measure & fitting for footwear, plus complementary new school accessories – a category where M&S does not have an extensive own brand offer, the company said in a press release.

The third-party Back-to-School offering is part of the wider ‘Brands at M&S’ strategy, which offers customers access to a carefully selected group of brands and all of the advantages of shopping with the M&S platform, from free next day Click & Collect to our Sparks loyalty programme. 

Although predominantly an online platform, the store expansion of Clarks, Hype and Smiggle follows the success of a trial in eight stores across the UK for Back-to-School last year. Stores which featured Clarks complementary measure & fit service, on average saw an eight per cent rise in customers in store, increasing total kidswear sales by 13 per cent as it continues to grow market share, according to M&S.

Back-to-School is the third biggest retail event of the year. With one in four M&S Clothing & Home customers now shopping kidswear, appealing to family shoppers is a key strategic focus. Earlier in the year, M&S welcomed the award-winning early years toy specialist, Early Learning Centre to ten stores across the UK.

“We’re really proud to be the UK market leader in children’s schoolwear, known for our trusted quality and everyday value. Back-to-School is a busy time for families and we want to make the shopping experience even easier for our customers by putting some of their favourite footwear and accessories brands, alongside our strong schoolwear offer. This is just one of the many ways we’re offering our 22 million clothing & home customers, more reasons to shop with M&S,” Neil Harrison, director of brands at M&S, said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)