Written by Katie Bickerstaffe, Co-CEO

Leading in omni-channel retail is one of the keys to unlocking an M&S reshaped for growth.

One of the exciting opportunities within that – in fact, we believe it is a £400m opportunity – is our third-party brands strategy; which aims to deliver a carefully curated selection of complementary brands, giving our customers more reasons to shop at M&S.

M&S has a lot to offer brands; access to 22 million engaged Clothing & Home customers, substantial customer data and engagement through Sparks - which now has c.16m members – as well as onmi-channel scale and a network of over 700 stores that offer free Click & Collect and returns.

The potential for growth comes to life through our partnership with the eco conscious fashion brand, Nobody’s Child. Chosen based on a shared synergy for making quality clothes that don’t cost the earth, they were the first flagship brand to be introduced to M&S.com in September 2020.

Our customers fell in love with their distinctive dress styles. So based on early success, one year ago, we took our relationship further, investing a c.25% stake; meaning Nobody’s Child continued to operate independently, but with the infrastructure of M&S to scale the business.

Today, they continue to be our most popular third-party brand, shopped by over 320,000 customers [+7% LY]. They have attracted new customers to M&S; 14% of sales of Nobody’s Child product are from customers who have not shopped M&S previously but 97% continue to shop both brands. Their brand awareness has grown evident in their social following which is up 65% on LY.

Through the investment, we’ve supported Nobody’s Child to expand their store presence outside of London, opening in 10 M&S stores across the UK, as well as going global; launching across 93 international markets on M&S.com. It’s not all about these ‘big’ moments either; Nobody’s Child have immersed themselves in the benefits of being part of the M&S Family – including taking part in our Sparks campaigns and even hosting their own Live Shopping episode on M&S.com.

M&S own-brand clothing will always be the heart of our offer. Our third-party brands strategy is about careful curation – finding the right partners who complement our core ranges. When we get those partnerships right – as shown with Nobody’s Child – everyone wins.