M&S closures

I've bought these chinos previously so they should be fine - although the non Per Una ones in M&S the other day looked very crumpled.
Their bed linen is usually good

You cannot be selective about clothes ordered online. You have no idea of the quality until you actually get them in your hands, then you have all the hassle of sending them back because quality is so poor, or that is my experience of M&S (and H&M)

I've just received a 20% discount voucher so it's just as well I didn't order the Per Una chinos yesterday!

I did try to be selective when I visited the store the other day but the clothes were all over the place and I just got fed up, and the nice linen trousers I bought last year were nowhere to be found. "We change our designs every year" - this year 'we are doing baggy linen trousers'.

I have just had delivered an order of Per Una straight “ bling” jeans , two navy blue striped cotton single duvet sets, one super king white seersucker cotton duvet set and two taupe checked tweed cushions.
All with a 20% discount.
I am more than happy with them.
You just have to be selective.

And ladies, for those with a Premium Club account online they say "are not currently accepting new members". Looks like there are going to be changes there.

I went in today to buy some basics - linen trousers, chinos etc but the linen trousers are not the same as last year's (no zip, horribly baggy) and the chinos looked as if they had come out of a rag bag. The tops were all patterned and I wanted plain.

In despair I went to the caff for a coffee and a light lunch. 'Do you have a salad?'. 'No, sorry.' 'Do you have any GF sandwiches?' 'No'.
So I went to the Foodhall and found lots of salads and some gf sandwiches in the meal deal and sat outside and ate them.

As DH said - 'They don't care about the customer any more'.

Do you think we should email M&S and suggest their buyers go to Gransnet for advice?

Email today from Sparks. Exclusive event, save the date. To head into store to see this season's style essentials. Invitation will be in post in next 3 weeks......personally I can't wait. Not.I can't see the essentials will appeal to my age group

Given that the average teen has less disposable income than an average older customer, and seems to want new “disposable” things every weekend, I don’t know why M&S seem hell bent on trying to be ultra trendy. Based on my 5 teenage grandaughters, who wouldn’t be seen dead in anything from M&S anyway, they are wasting their time. As so many have already said, they would do much better to go back to decent quality in reliable sizes.

Now I always think of M&S as being old fashioned and fuddy duddy in its clothes design. what I would call 'safe' clothing, clothes that won't go out of fashion because they have never been in fashion'. Sizing by approximations and poor quality fabrics. An occasional pearl, but mostly dross.

M &S have been told so many times that they have lost their core group of customers but they never listen or take heed.
We want good quality fabrics and design, we don't want all the latest trends, there are other shops for that. Good classic clothing which is smart, elegant and flattering.
I go to Lands End for tops, don't like the cut of their trousers and Next for jeans etc.

Thank you for mentioning Woolovers M0nica. I like plain knitwear in classic styles and natural fibres (I'd been admiring the sweaters Phoebe Waller-Bridge wears in Fleabag) but was struggling to find similar on the high street.

varian how I agree with you! The idea of spreading stuff round is that in rootling around a store to find the green jumpers yu will see lots of other stock and be tempted to buy more.

It does not have that effect on me. I just get exasperated and storm out in paddy and go online to a site like woolovers that lines the styles up and lists all the colours and sizes, so I can go to 'polo necks', for example, click on colour and size and the job is done.

To an extent retailers have brought internet shopping on themselves by making their stores so hard to shop in.

Oh yes the high round necks - are all the buyers flat-chested? I much prefer V-necks, looked for T-shirts at M&S but for a couple of years there they simply didn't do them. Every other neckline, just not V's. Bought some lovely ones from Gap in their sale, not the range of colours you get from M&S, but white is always wearable.

Thanks for mentioning nasty fabrics janieuk. I thought it was just me. Synthetic static-inducing summer tops that I just know would feel horrible worn in hot weather.

Recently I bought a modal shirt which has a nice soft handle to it. One wash and the buttonholes became so slack that the front kept popping open so I had to sit and put a couple of stiches in each one. Not the end of the world but frustrating.

Apart from the ‘nasty’ fabrics everything seems to have a high round neck - this style makes me feel like I’m being strangled! And really doesn’t suit anyone with a large bust. I used to buy all my work trousers from M&S - the simple stylish pull on easycare ones; I’ve had some of them for years. I tried to replace them recently and the material was shocking, it was like pyjama material! I usually have to buy online as I can never buy my size in store, they don’t seem to stock long length. I am sad about their demise, they were my go to store for years. Perhaps we should bombard them with our views!

I wandered into Marks yesterday with 20% off vouchers hoping to find some blouses among other things. I sometimes think their buyers have a death wish for their employers, what is with all the floral patterns and horrible fabrics? they have more flowers than a garden centre . I think they should get rid of their current team and try and filch Unliqo's buyers who could introduce them to the concept of producing crisp cotton shirts and simply designed separates that many women want, instead of the over fussy garments that adorn the M&S rails at the moment. Less is More Marks and Spencer! That might be an over used adage but quite often it's true.

With the advent of retail parks out of town its inevitable the High St stores are going to suffer. Many years ago when I was a child my mother had a 'drapers' shop and I can remember her being very worried when a local Spar opened a couple of doors away and started selling tights - it marked the beginning of one stop shopping. Luckily it seems our store in the large town nearby isn't affected but the stores in the both towns I grew up in will close. It's very sad but unfortunately I guess I'm part of the problem as I rarely go in M&S unless it's to walk through to the other street. I had £100 voucher a couple of years ago (courtesy of some insurance product) and it took me months to find something to buy with it. I hope they manage to pull it out of the doldrums but it's been tried a couple of times already and seems to have failed.

My nearest food shop is an M&S food. Just a bit too handy.

I never buy at full price, Lazigirl. £60 is a bit too much for my purse but Landsend regularly have sales and promotions. They've currently got 30% off.

Thanks for feedback SueD. Will give them a try as I wear jeans much of the time and M&S deteriorating in quality.

Lazigirl, the Landsend fabric is good quality denim, quite heavyweight. The ones I've bought have had a little stretch in them, elastane of whatever it's called, and they keep their shape well.

The dark ones do shed quite a bit of dye at first - I wondered why my hands had turned blue! - but overall, I'm very happy with them.

A simply food opened recently near us. About 10 different kinds of sushi and self service tills only.

Don't even bother to go into M & S anymore, on those rare occasions that I go into nearest town. Expensive tat.

They made a decision over a year ago to concentrate on food. Gransnetters may have noticed a Sinply Food opening nearby?
There was no plan to keep the large stores open