British icon Twiggy opened the doors of M&S’ 125th birthday exhibition, ‘Marks in Time’ today. She joined M&S Chairman, Sir Stuart Rose and University of Leeds Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Arthur as they announced that plans have been agreed to permanently relocate the entire M&S Company Archive to Leeds.

Developed in partnership with the University of Leeds, ‘Marks in Time’, is a free exhibition at the University’s Centenary Gallery within the Parkinson Building. It showcases the M&S journey from market stall to international retailer and highlights the role M&S has played in British cultural history since Michael Marks, the company’s founder, opened his first stall at Leeds’ Kirkgate Market in 1884.

‘Marks in Time’ is first phase of a unique partnership between M&S and the University of Leeds, who have now also agreed plans for the relocation of the entire company archive to Leeds on permanent basis. The full M&S archive – which contains more than 60,000 items – will be housed in a purpose-built location on the western campus, making it available to staff and students for research, teaching and learning. It will also be fully accessible to the public for the first time. As a dynamic, living archive it will continue to function as an important internal research facility for the M&S team with an exhibitions space, conference facilities and reading room. It is scheduled to open in autumn 2011 and ‘Marks in Time’ will remain open until then.

Sir Stuart Rose, M&S Chairman said: “We’re delighted to open our exhibition, ‘Marks in Time’, here today and to announce that we have agreed plans to permanently relocate the archive in its entirety to the University of Leeds. The M&S archive offers a unique glimpse into our cultural heritage and we are very proud that our business began here in Leeds 125 years ago.”

University of Leeds Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Arthur, said: “The opening of this exhibition and the relocation of the archive to campus are the first fruits of an innovative partnership between one of Britain’s leading retailers and one of Britain’s leading universities.

“We already have one of the best academic libraries in the country, and the arrival of this tremendous archive will further strengthen it. The collection spans economic, social, artistic and cultural history and will be of interest to staff and students from all parts of the University as well as the public.”

The exceptional breadth, variety and depth of the archive means it is of considerable academic value and the collection will be used in research, learning, teaching and knowledge transfer activity at the University. A number of key research themes have been identified including the relationship between retailer and producer; fashion communications; and corporate social responsibility. The archive is expected to be of particular interest to staff and students working in subjects including business, economics, textiles, arts, communications, marketing, colour chemistry, food sciences and the social sciences.

‘Marks in Time’ will be supported by a new website that also launched today. www.marksintime.marksandspencer.com will offer a taste of the exhibition to people who are unable to visit it in Leeds and provide an insight into the items on display. It will also boast learning pages for schools and a summary of the series of seminars planned at the University of Leeds for later this year. Members of the public will be able to post their M&S memories, as well as images and descriptions of their own M&S vintage products.

In line with the opening of ‘Marks in Time’ M&S has launched a ‘Friends of the Archive’ membership scheme. For an annual membership fee of £15 members will receive regular newsletters detailing progress and events at the archive, exclusive postcards, an M&S 125 pin and free coffee vouchers.

Your M&S Vintage Roadshow

Also today, Sir Stuart Rose announced that on Saturday 20 June, M&S will be hosting a special one-day event at the University to encourage local people to dig out their own M&S memorabilia from the last 125 years.

The Your M&S Vintage Roadshow will be fronted by BBC Antique Roadshow experts, Eric Knowles and Henry Sandon, who will be on hand to ‘value’ and date M&S items from the past, supported by experts from the M&S Archive Team and the University.

M&S is encouraging people to bring along any M&S items from the past which may be of interest for the celebrities and experts to look at. From clothing & accessories, to toys & household items to photos and packaging, the company is hoping to unearth a treasure trove of vintage products. Extra special items and those of outstanding merit will be considered for inclusion in the M&S archive should their owners want to donate them to the collection.

The M&S Vintage Roadshow will also be supported by a team from Oxfam, who will be there to receive any M&S donations that visitors do not want to take home with them. Anyone making a donation to Oxfam via the M&S Clothing Exchange will be given a voucher entitling them to £5 off their next M&S clothing purchase of £35 or more.

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:

Amy Garbutt Beattie Communications 0113 213 0302
Guy Dixon University of Leeds 0113 343 4031

To download pictures of the M&S archive collection, please visit:

www.mandslibrary.com

For more information on the history of M&S, please visit: www.marksandspencer.com/thecompany

Notes to Editors

• The University of Leeds is the UK’s eighth biggest research powerhouse according to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. It is also one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. The University’s vision is to secure a place among the world’s top 50 by 2015. www.leeds.ac.uk
  
• The archive is the latest addition to the University of Leeds’ rich collection of cultural and artistic assets which includes the Stanley and Audrey Burton Art Gallery, the Library and Special Collections, Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall and a theatre complex, stage@leeds. The Refectory remains a perennial favourite with bands; and the University’s ground-breaking partnership with Opera North is attracting plaudits.

The M&S Archive - Background

• The M&S archive has been deemed by independent experts as having the potential to be one of the UK’s finest commercial archives. It includes clothing, toys, books, homeware and food packaging. It also offers an unrivalled insight into the company’s corporate history as it includes an extensive collection of internal and external company documents.

• The Business Archives Council was consulted regarding M&S’ archive and arranged for Peter Scott, Professor of International Business History at the University of Reading’s Henley Business School, to conduct an academic evaluation.

• His report rated the archive as a collection of international importance, containing a wealth of valuable information regarding Marks & Spencer’s heritage, the history of British high street fashion and food retailing.

• The archive is deemed to be of considerable value to scholars due to the economic and social importance of M&S – lending itself to a number of research projects from the evolution of the company, development of staff welfare programmes and financial performance through to the growth of the store network and the range and nature of products provided to a growing mass market.

• Historians of fashion and design will find merchandise artefacts of particular value to track the development of high street fashion. Other material lends itself to historical studies of household consumption and mass marketing through illustration of the evolving relationship between M&S and its customers, which is of considerable importance to British economic and social history.
  

Back to press releases index

Back to top