The Pantheon, which was built in the late 18th century, was an opera house and entertainment venue before its reconstruction for M&S in the 1930s. With the latest revamp now finished, the next big project for the retailer will be its Marble Arch store, at the other end of Oxford Street.<\/p>\n
Machin said the group\u2019s most profitable but rather low-ceilinged and labyrinthine outlet would be knocked down next year, a plan which has prompted outrage over the potential environmental impact.<\/p>\n
The new, 10-storey building<\/a> won planning permission only after a legal challenge and approval by the housing secretary, Angela Rayner<\/a>, in 2024. It will include just two and a half floors of shop space \u2013 compared with five at present \u2013 topped by offices and a gym, and will stand at the eastern tip of the London mayor Sadiq Khan\u2019s pedestrianisation of Oxford Street<\/a>, which is due to be in place next year. .<\/p>\n The rebuild is expected to take four years, during which M&S will lease a temporary store across the road in the same block as Zara. Machin told those gathered at the Pantheon that \u201chopefully\u201d he would still be chief executive when the Marble Arch rebuild was completed, adding: \u201cSo let\u2019s see how we do.\u201d<\/p>\n It is a question many shoppers and analysts may well be asking as Machin, backed by his retail veteran chair, Archie Norman<\/a>, attempt to lead a turnaround of M&S that actually sticks and extends beyond a few high-profile outlets.<\/p>\n Several predecessors have come up with flashy, short-lived revival plans to combat competition from Primark, H&M, Zara and younger, online rivals. After losing momentum, M&S only briefly regained annual pre-tax profits of \u00a31bn in 2008, having first reached that milestone in 1998.<\/p>\n M&S took over the pit lane at Silverstone last month before the British Grand Prix go under way. Photograph: Mark Sutton\/Formula 1\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Despite a global financial crisis, Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic and the cyber-attack, the retailer appears to be on the front foot \u2013 with strong food sales and fashion credentials to match<\/a>.<\/p>\n Underlying profits fell to \u00a3671m<\/a> last year, and Machin told the Guardian that climbing back to \u00a31bn was not the aim. \u201cProfit will be what it will be,\u201d he said. \u201cOur plan is for a growth business.\u201d<\/p>\n While some shareholders may complain about lacklustre dividends, Machin said they would thank him in the long term. His plan involves \u00a3700m of investments in revitalising stores, modernising its supply chain and distribution system, and further improvements in products.<\/p>\n The group, which employs more than 65,000 people, has 227 full-line stores \u2013 containing food, clothing, homewares and beauty \u2013 after closing dozens of old and out-of-place outlets. More will shut over the next two years and a handful of new outlets are opening. It aims to have 180 full-line stores in the UK.<\/p>\n In contrast, M&S\u2019s food arm is expanding, with 18 food-only stores opening this year as it heads for a target of 420, compared with 335 directly operated outlets now. Franchise partners run another 466 in the UK and more overseas.<\/p>\n A wave of new food stores and some cheaper groceries may have brought a broader range of shopper into M&S, but Machin said the retailer was \u201cjust at the starting blocks\u201d with changes in fashion, home and beauty.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n M&S is aiming to double food sales by becoming a \u2018true shopping-list retailer\u2019<\/p>\n The Pantheon store is \u201cwhere we\u2019re testing how we make shopping our ranges easier, more curated and more inspiring\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n The fashion floors are now broken up into bright \u201crooms\u201d for different brands and product types, \u2013 flanked by digital displays, green-tiled pillars and modern shelving.<\/p>\n On food, M&S is aiming to become a \u201ctrue shopping-list retailer\u201d as it aims to double sales. It is already the fastest-growing food retailer in the UK, with sales up 16% in the latest three-month tally from Worldpanel by Numerator. This has kept its market share at an all-time high of 4.1%, or 4.6% if sales via its online partner Ocado are included.<\/p>\n On clothing, Machin has said M&S had \u201cfinally dumped the frump\u201d \u2013 grasping the No 1 spot on style perception from its Spanish rival Zara to add to its existing top position on value, according to Worldpanel.<\/p>\n Modern shelving at the revamped M&S store<\/p>\n M&S is regaining market share \u2013 now controlling more than 10% of the UK fashion (clothing and footwear) market \u2013 and driving for more. It has even had to buy in more smaller-sized womenswear and lingerie<\/a> as consumers in their 40s, 30s and even 20s reappraise the brand.<\/p>\n With the help of its marketing director, Sharry Cramond, who is bringing the social media-fuelled interest to fashion that she first delivered on food, the brand is creating a buzz.<\/p>\n Senior industry insiders believe M&S is now \u201cin a solid place\u201d. One said it had \u201cre-established itself and its credentials\u201d, and another that it had \u201ca lot more self-confidence\u201d. \u201cClothing has finally got its mojo back,\u201d according to one former senior executive.<\/p>\n But another former executive needled that despite Machin\u2019s \u201cquite high ego quotient\u201d, massaged with appearances on social media with glamorous influencers such as the Chicken Shop Date comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg or the actor Gillian Anderson, there was more work to do.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has lost a massive amount of market share on womenswear which it will never recover,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Another industry insider said M&S, which once had a vast empire, was continuing to struggle overseas. Two decades after quitting the US<\/a>, it still has a presence in 70 countries \u2013 but many operations are small. He added that the acquisition of a 50% stake<\/a> in Ocado\u2019s retail arm in 2019 was largely unprofitable, even if it had brought in a younger audience.<\/p>\n Machin said revamping the international business had been harder than he envisaged, but said its fashion revival was helping overseas too.<\/p>\n Perhaps his biggest challenge lies behind the scenes, with big warehouse projects in the next few years in south-west England and the Midlands. \u201cDeadlines are realistic. We are not going from zero to 10 overnight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a hot summer\u2019s evening on London\u2019s busy Oxford Street, a crowd of fashion influencers, models, journalists and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":724382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-724381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/724382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/500.jpg\")
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