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 said it will begin its first stock buyback program since 2008 as the U.K. clothing and food retailer charts a recovery after three years of declining earnings.
The company will repurchase 150 million pounds ($232 million) of shares in the current financial year, it said in a statement Wednesday. Marks & Spencer also boosted the dividend and reported its first increase in yearly earnings since 2011.
After years of playing second fiddle to competitors such as Next Plc, Chief Executive Officer Marc Bolland announced last month that the company had finally arrested a 14-quarter decline in general-merchandise sales, while also managing to grow its food sales in a shrinking market. Optimism about M&S’s performance has seen the shares rise to their highest level since 2007.
“We are a more capable business following a sustained period of investment,” Chairman Robert Swannel said in the statement. “Our focus continues to be on delivery of the strategy and improvement in shareholder returns.”
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M&S also gave forecasts for its fiscal 2016 performance, saying it expects gross margins to widen by 1.5 to 2 percentage points in its general-merchandise business and as much as 0.1 percentage point in its food business.
Underlying pretax profit rose by 6.1 percent to 661.2 million pounds in the 52 weeks ended March 28. That compared with the 652 million-pound average estimate of 22 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
By Sam Chambers; editors: Matthew Boyle, Paul Jarvis, James Boxell.
In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.
A blockbuster public listing should clear the way for other brands to try their luck. That, plus LVMH results and what else to watch for in the coming week.
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