This was an extraordinary year for M&S. We stayed focused on our customers and colleagues while working incredibly hard to recover our business, and we came out stronger.
At all times, we were transparent about the challenges we were facing. Our priority was to do the right thing for our customers and they remained loyal, voting us the UK’s most trusted brand according to YouGov, something which we never take for granted. We thank everyone who shopped with us and aim to serve them better every day.
A resilient balance sheet supported by the hard work done in recent years to improve cash generation allowed us to absorb the costs of disruption without compromising our financial health. With strong net funds we continued our transformation at pace, completing our most ambitious year of store renewals in a decade alongside significant advances in supply chain and digital capability.
Food was our standout, as more customers than ever chose M&S Food for its quality, innovation and value. Performance accelerated in the second half, returns were strong, and we continued to outperform the market with the prospect of more growth to come.
In Fashion, Home & Beauty, we delivered leading style credentials at the best possible value, and this resonated with customers. Recovery has taken longer, but there is strong growth potential. To support this, we have accelerated supply chain improvements, and our newly acquired, fully automated Lichfield site will increase capacity and deliver new styles to customers faster.
We also continued with the reset of our International business, investing in value, building strategic partnerships and identifying new growth opportunities.
Our progress this year would not have been possible without the exceptional commitment of colleagues across every part of M&S, and I thank each of them for their part. At all times we were front footed, sleeves rolled up, forging the culture we need to transform. We have a renewed sense of purpose that you can feel around the business today: fast paced, still positively dissatisfied, and always aiming higher. We are evolving our people plan to match, injecting fresh senior talent into our community of experienced leaders. On the Executive Committee we have further strengthened our team with the appointments of Thinus Keeve as Retail Director, Hayley Tatum as Chief People Officer, and Alex Doorey as Corporate Affairs Director, and in our wider team we have welcomed experts who can lead our transformation journey, particularly in Fashion, Home & Beauty.
We now look forward. The next three years are among the most important in our history. Retailers face a triple whammy of external headwinds: increased taxation, more regulatory burden and ongoing global conflict, but at M&S there is much within our control. We are unshaken by short-term events, running the business for today by improving how we serve, remaining product obsessed and driving better value, and investing for tomorrow by implementing our key transformation priorities.
I have always said that our job is to protect the magic of M&S while modernising the rest. Now we’ve got the momentum to do that at pace. We have a strong culture, a hardworking, focused team, and a growth business. There’s an extraordinary opportunity ahead, and we are on it.
Stuart Machin