The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
LONDON, United Kingdom — Marks & Spencer Group Plc canceled its dividend and took measures to ensure it has enough credit available for the next 18 months as retailers prepare for the possibility that stores will never be the same again after Covid-19.
Withholding any dividend for fiscal 2021 will save £210 million ($261 million), Marks & Spencer said Tuesday. Lenders also agreed to relax so-called covenant agreements on its debt through September 2021, giving the company easier access to loans.
Lockdowns have been another blow for Marks & Spencer’s ailing clothing business, which will force the retailer to depend even more on food.
Marks & Spencer said it will give investors an update on its transformation program and plans to change how it works permanently when reporting results on May 20. In September, the retailer will have a multichannel food operation set up through its alliance with online grocer Ocado Plc.
By Thomas Mulier
Nordstrom, Tod’s and L’Occitane are all pushing for privatisation. Ultimately, their fate will not be determined by whether they are under the scrutiny of public investors.
The company is in talks with potential investors after filing for insolvency in Europe and closing its US stores. Insiders say efforts to restore the brand to its 1980s heyday clashed with its owners’ desire to quickly juice sales in order to attract a buyer.
The humble trainer, once the reserve of football fans, Britpop kids and the odd skateboarder, has become as ubiquitous as battered Converse All Stars in the 00s indie sleaze years.
Manhattanites had little love for the $25 billion megaproject when it opened five years ago (the pandemic lockdowns didn't help, either). But a constantly shifting mix of stores, restaurants and experiences is now drawing large numbers of both locals and tourists.