‘Knicker queen’ quits M&S after just three months

Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has suffered a serious setback in his efforts to build a dream team of clothing industry stars after “knicker queen” Janie Schaffer resigned as director of lingerie and beauty after just three months in the role.

Schaffer, the former chief creative officer at US lingerie firm Victoria’s Secret, joined M&S at the start of the year. Bolland had heralded her appointment as the completion of an “exciting” general merchandise team, which had been bolstered in September with the addition of Belinda Earl, formerly of Debenhams and Jaeger, who was drafted in to revitalise the group’s womenswear ranges.

However, figures last week showed sales of non-food products, spanning clothing, footwear and homewares, fell by 3.8 per cent during the three months to 30 March as M&S came under pressure amid the consumer downturn and tough competition from the likes of H&M and Next.

M&S refused to comment on the reasons behind Schaffer’s resignation, which is understood to have been tendered last week.

According to Verdict Research, sales of lingerie and pyjamas account for almost one third of total clothing revenues at the retailer.