Missing the mark

Published on 12/07/2012 00:00

The reported comments of Nick Bubb, an independent retail analyst (your report, 12 July), underlined the fact that the problems being faced by Marks & Spencer are not down to bad weather, but the fact that the retailer is “clearly losing market share”.

Could I suggest that the “customer experience” is not enhanced by the playing of piped music which, as someone with a hearing defect, I find totally unacceptable.

None of my friends or acquaintances actually enjoy piped music and we are left to speculate that M&S is targeting the younger market – but any 
retailer ignores the “grey pound” at its peril. What many customers may not know is that the price of the products they buy actually includes the price of the licences required to play piped music – and that cost for M&S must be considerable – in its tens of thousands of pounds.

On 2 July I commented on John Lewis’s reported-year-on year sales growth and speculated that its environment, where no music was played, may well have had a part to play in this respect. 

The real challenge for the M&S management, as they all scramble for the lifeboats – or indeed throw someone overboard – is to address the needs and expectations of their current, and past, customers.

M&S can have all the best 
designs in the world but if others like me do not go through its doors then nothing can be achieved.

Alan McKinney

Beauchamp Road

Edinburgh