'It's not job done' More change to come as M&S gets its spark back

M&S menswear, above, is starting to compete for style with specialist rivals while the company's menswear has successfully caught the attention of younger buyers

- Sarah Butler

We have a plan, but it's a high-wire act, and we have got to keep both feet on the wire," says Archie Norman, the chair of Marks & Spencer.

M&S may have had a blockbuster year with its share price up 40% and market share gains in both food and clothing as families have re-embraced the high street stalwart, but the retail veteran is not satisfied.

Ahead of the group's festive trading statement this Thursday, Norman, who joined the company seven years ago and has helped engineer a revival many thought impossible, admits: "We have a lot more to do. Four years of decent results and people think job done, in fact there is a long way to go."

After major changes in food, including taking over distribution partner Gist, and reworking womenswear, M&S is now revamping childrenswear and beauty, rebuilding its homewares ranges and rebooting its international arm as it takes on rival John Lewis.

"We think keeping the spirit of the turnaround is essential because it takes a long time to irreversibly change a business," says Norman, who may have just two years left in the role if M&S adheres to the City convention of a nine-year term.

In 2018, Norman, an industry stalwart best known for reviving Asda in the 1990s, said M&S was on a "burning platform" and needed to make big changes.

Under its chief executive Stuart Machin, who took the reins in 2022, the group has closed more than 50 outdated stores, revamped a quarter of its estate and last year shot back into the FTSE 100 for the first time in four years.

This year, M&S is set to make pre-tax profits of about £840m, which is the best result in more than a decade. Next week it is expected to report food sales growth of 7.8% for the last quarter of 2024, but clothing and homewares sales growth of just 0.7%.