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M&S plans image revamp
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March 13, 2000: 10:55 a.m. ET
Troubled U.K. retailer will demote St. Michael brand in revival bid
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Troubled U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer, squeezed by slumping market share and savvy Main Street rivals, is planning the brand-name equivalent of a full body makeover.
The embattled clothing-store chain, which owns the 220-strong Brooks Brothers clothing-store chain in the United States, was once among the brightest stars in Britain's corporate firmament. Now, though, it is gearing up for a major image overhaul that involves, among other changes, demoting its St. Michael brand name - in use on its clothing since 1928 - by turning it into a quality seal label attached in logo form to tags and bags.
"Marks & Spencer is the brand, while St. Michael will be a guarantee of quality and trust," an M&S spokesman told Reuters.
The significance of the change won't be lost on millions of Britons who patronize the store, known for its mid-priced clothing, food and household items. St. Michael, for its part, has been dubbed fondly by generations of British shoppers as the "patron saint" of women's underwear.
The image overhaul, details of which are to be unveiled within a month, will also involve a revamped look for the retailer's approximately 300 storefronts in Britain, changes in staff uniforms, food packaging and labels, according to London's Financial Times.
Shares of Marks and Spencer (MKS) were down 3.2 percent at 225 pence Monday afternoon in London.
M&S, still the largest clothing retailer in the United Kingdom, has fallen on hard times in recent months amid a series of unsuccessful acquisitions, criticism of its clothing lines and management squabbles.
In November, the company posted a 43-percent decline in first-half earnings to 192.8 million pounds. That followed a profit warning in September - the company's second in a year.
Though the company's chief executive Peter Salsbury said at the time of the November report that his company had reached a turning point after 12 turbulent months, the reality at street level has often been harsh.
The FT cited figures from Verdict, a retail research organization, showing that M&S's market share fell to 11 percent last year from 13 percent in 1998, as department store and supermarket competitors bit into profits. The newspaper said the brand overhaul will be among the first major initiatives taken on by the company's new executive chairman, Luc Van de Velde, who has been in the post just two weeks.
The rebranding decision followed a survey that suggested the use of both the St. Michael's brand and the M&S name tended to confuse customers.
Marks and Spencer said Sunday it is close to a deal to sell its Gyle shopping center in Edinburgh, Scotland for around 200 million pounds ($316 million). The disposal is part of a broader strategy outlined in the company's financial results last November to raise around 400 million pounds through sales of non-trading assets. 
--from staff and wire reports
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Marks & Spencer
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