Jim Armitage: Bringing in great designers could solve Steve Rowe’s dilemma at M&S

M&S lifer Steve Rowe deserves a decent chance to prove me wrong, but I fear he’s not the radical leader this business needs.

Excellent though it is that he’s ditched that dowdy old term “general merchandise”, today’s numbers highlight its core womenswear remains in permanent decline. Even when the ranges get acclaim in the fashion press, sales still keep falling.

Like many a middle-aged man, Rowe faces the dilemma of whether to keep trying to be trendy, or accept he’s getting on a bit and dress accordingly. M&S attempts to do both, serving young and old with the same brand, and the look isn’t working. It hasn’t for years.

There’s another problem. Even if fashion-conscious women like the stuff Rowe’s selling, many don’t buy there because they don’t want it to be known they’re wearing “mass-market” M&S. And heaven forbid that you should run the risk of turning up to work in the same jacket or skirt as your friends and enemies.

Given the M&S brand’s growing toxicity with so many of its potential customers, surely it’s time to consider bringing in great British designers from outside the company to add to the mix. Why not have concessions for upmarket brands like Reiss and Paul Smith, and younger, cheaper offers from TopShop or New Look alongside M&S’s own ranges?

M&S has far too many stores in too many places. But being the only shop in town to get sought-after designers may make women of all tastes want to spend there again. But does Rowe have the heart for such drastic measures?

Being Dartford born, I can testify that the old place needs some serious love from government and investors.

Close to London, near to the Ebbsfleet Eurostar, miles of Thames views on offer and Garden-of-England countryside half an hour away, there’s no logical reason why the region’s been stuck in the doldrums since the decline of London’s ports half a century ago. Apart from a woeful failure of central planning, that is.

So it’s heartening to see Michael Heseltine talking today about galvanising private finance and government support to build new communities, rather than more dull, unplanned sprawl, through his Thames Estuary Growth Commission.

Despite his age (83), he has the clout and vision to make a difference, drawn in no small part from his energetic salvation of Liverpool.

More importantly, he’s not wedded to the laid-back philosophy that’s led seen his old Business department make such a hash of the steel industry.

So, come on Tarzan, swing into action.