M&S hopes Sienna Miller’s sold-out sequins will wow the town
Stylish: Sienna Miller designs clothes for Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer investors are hoping to be dazzled next week – and not just by the sequins on Sienna Miller’s new party dresses.
The department store chain will update the market on Wednesday and provide insight into consumer confidence ahead of the critical Christmas period.
A £79 green satin maxi dress designed by British actress Miller has been flying off the shelves since its launch last week.
Her second collection trades her signature boho chic for festive glamour, after the first collection in June sold out most pieces within hours.
Greater insight into rising sales figures could provide some much-needed buzz after Rachel Reeves’ dismal Budget caused more pain and misery on the high street.
Updates are also expected from online retailer Asos on Tuesday, Primark on Wednesday, Sainsbury’s on Thursday and Asda on Friday.
But retailers are nervous about consumer confidence in the wake of the Chancellor’s first Budget.
Interest rates could remain higher for longer, dampening economic growth and spending. There are also fears that shoppers could feel an increase in their employers’ national insurance contributions in their pay packets due to suppressed wage growth.
Yet M&S has so far dispelled consumer gloom by investing in its food offering and giving its clothing lines a makeover.
Shares traded at an eight-year high as the turnaround continues to gather pace. Stuart Machin, who has continued to implement a plan launched by chairman and retail veteran Archie Norman, will hope to wow the city again.
After years of mocking M&S fashion lines as ‘sloppy’, collaborations with Miller and Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham have brought the shine back.
On the food side, more and more customers have flocked to stores, even for their big weekly shop, bosses say. Due to the enormous sales figures, the company is now hot on the heels of rival Waitrose from central England.
But investors are questioning the future of a partnership with Ocado Retail, despite signs of progress.
Aarin Chiekrie, analyst at estate agent Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘Machin has breathed new life into the business. Its food and clothing propositions have been tightened, stealing market share.”
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