Katie: As in Food, great value in Clothing & Home means more than just price, it also means great cost per wear, hand-me-down quality, the confidence that it will fit and also wash well. Wanted them to have confidence in the value of our uniform. Schoolwear is an essential purchase for millions of families, and we In Clothing, as the market leaders in Back-to-School season, we took the decision to hold prices on uniforms last summer. Customers have noticed the difference, with M&S price comparison videos going viral on TikTok. In Food, alongside our everyday Remarksable ranges we launched “Price Locks” on over 100 customer favourites to give them certainty on the products they love to shop. We wanted to protect this and invested again in our value.Īcross both businesses we have focused on protecting prices on the products that matter most to customers. Of course, at M&S value isn’t just about price – it means never compromising on the quality standards our customers expect. Over the last three years we have started to change value perceptions of M&S thanks to the investment we have made in price – particularly in Food. Stuart: We know value has been the single most important factor for customers when deciding where to shop. It was clear that Christmas was a particular pinch point, so we gave a £250 giftcard to store and junior colleagues to provide just a little extra help towards their celebrations. With input from our colleague listening schemes and BIG – our colleague representative group – we introduced free sanitary products across all sites and stores and a free meal per shift for colleagues at our Distribution Centre in Castle Donington. We used awareness weeks to make sure colleagues knew about the help available to them – such as our free financial planning workshops and the Unmind mental wellbeing App. We also wanted to offer practical support to our colleagues. Katie: Alongside pay, we have protected front-line roles this year. When combined with pension and benefits, this gives M&S one of the strongest reward packages in retail. In February 2023, we announced a commitment to invest a further £57m in store colleague pay, meaning the hourly rate has increased 20% over the last two years. Throughout 2022/23 we invested over £46m in front-line colleague pay across two separate pay rises, including our first ever Autumn pay review. It was the top concern for our colleagues, and we wanted to do what we could to help ease some of that strain. Stuart: Whether you’ve been running a home or running a business, everyone across the country has felt the pressure of rising costs this year.

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