Talk:Marks & Spencer
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Is it worth mentioning the recent, ongoing campaign by USDAW to get recognition from Marks and Spencer? --Chryma
The article suggests that Marks and Spencer have never opened on a Sunday until very recently, but in Scotland they've been doing so for as long as I can remember. --DWeir
I can't remember if this is correct, or not, but am I right in thinking that the Baker St. offices are on the site of where Sherlock Holmes address of 221b Baker Street would be if it actually existed and that at one time M&S had an office in the building dedicated to answering letters addressed to Holmes? If this was so, is it still the case or have they moved these operations to the 221b Baker Street museum (which is actually located a bit further up the road). Mintguy 23:46 Dec 15, 2002 (UTC)
I think it's the Abbey National, not M&S -- Tarquin
- Ahh... yes of course, much obliged. My searches on Google form Holmes and M&S were coming up blank. Mintguy
- BTW, Abbey National is now Abbey. Lee M 05:18, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
Is it just me, or does the phrase "supporters of the Palestinian people in their struggle against Zionism" seem a bit too POV? - Lee M 18:42, 29 Aug 2003 (UTC)
- Not sure how that is POV (what else might people think they are struggling against?) but I think it reads better now anyway. Thank you for your edit. GrahamN 01:59, 31 Aug 2003 (UTC)
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- The term "Zionism" is potentially inflammatory.
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[edit] Page Name
What is the point of the move to Marks & Spencer (plc)? Mintguy (T) 11:19, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC) Surely we should have the page at Marks & Spencer there is no ambiguity, and this is what we see on the front of every store. Mintguy (T) 11:19, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Could somebody fix the sentence The company's share price fell by more than two thirds, and its profits fell from more than a billion pounds in 199 and XXXX to £1.5 million in the year ended 31 March 2001.? --JBellis 12:39, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Jewish?
Controversy
The founders of Marks and Spencer were Jewish, and the company long retained a Jewish identity to some degree. It has been caught up in one of two disputes related to Israel, but this has gone largely unnoticed by the British public.
[edit] Date of founding
I was confused by the conflicting dates 1884 and 1894, so I looked it up on their website. The history page here says Marks started the first business in 1884, but partnered with Spencer in 1894. So which should we use? (The two places it's stated are the infobox and the list of chairmen; I think we should be consistent, and I think it should also be detailed at the top of the History section.) --Galaxiaad 17:51, 23 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] What is "half bear half Jewish"?
Just as the subject says --- what indeed DOES this mean? Is this some sort of joke? Potentially anti-Semitic?
And incidentally, is this true about selling only Arabic-made goods? That, too, sounds a little weird.
[edit] POV?
"M&S deliver an excellent service to all its customers." Hmmm...?--Codenamecuckoo 20:22, 16 November 2006 (UTC)
- I removed it; it's not acceptable in that form.
- Now, if it was said that a reputable authority/survey had shown that many people considered M&S's service excellent, *and* this was referenced, it would be acceptable.
- (Note that a rewrite like "Some consider M&S's service to be excellent" alone would not be acceptable because it's a weasel-type phrase.) Fourohfour 12:40, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "Your M&S"
Regarding the minor dispute over whether Marks & Spencer are now "called" "Your M&S", or whether this is a branding exercise. TR Wolf claims that "I work for M&S, and validate this fact.'" I've no idea what he actually does at M&S (shelf filler or head of marketing), so can't tell if he's in a position to reliably confirm/deny corporate policy or not.
I was going to ask if this constituted original research- but only in a technical sense. Then I remembered *why* original research is frowned upon; it's hard to reliably gauge the validity or reliability of author, claim and source- the exact problem above. That's why we want referenced third-party sources!
I'm not saying that TR Wolf is wrong nor untrustworthy. On the contrary, as we now know he works for M&S it's far more likely that he's right- but I'm afraid "I work for M&S, and validate this fact'" still isn't a third-party reference.
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- Oh I work in Menswear, I only said that I could verify that stores call themselves "Your M&S" because we do, on the phone too, and when we call other stores they answer the same way, all tannoy announcements refer to the stores as "Your M&S", I mean Im obviously not cookiemonster, who seems to be Stuart Rose himself!! ... speaking of which, why is there no M&S logo on the article now? TR_Wolf
Now that I'm on the subject, this article really needs references, full stop.
Fourohfour 13:34, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
- In reply to this comment, as a different employee of M&S (I'm currently a trainee commercial manager three months into the scheme; the information comes from a presentation given to us at Head Office, Alexandra House, in September.), there is a debate about whether to officially rebrand all stores (ie front of shop signs) as 'M&S' or leave it as 'Marks and Spencers'. It's my understanding that the company is currently 'Marks and Spencers', but uses the 'Your M&S / M&S' logo partly as a slogan and partly as an unofficial brand name. 'M&S' is on some signs for redeveloped stores (e.g. Edgware Road), but the argument about whether to change all shops goes on. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.35.144.188 (talk • contribs) .
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- Does the Edgware Road store sign only have the new logo on it, i.e. it doesn't say "Marks and Spencer" at all? I ask because the Newcastle store (Northumberland Street) recently got a new sign which includes both the "old" and "new" logos. AdorableRuffian 20:22, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Newcastle Market Stall
Does anyone know whether Marks and Spencers still operate a stall on Grainger Market in Newcastle? I know it still operated 3 or 4 years ago, but is it still there? If so then it must be worth a mention, as it is one of the early stores from when the company started out.Drc79 22:47, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
- Yes, the Grainger Market shop is still there as of 26th March 2007 (and going great guns as far as I could see). The store still has its original Penny Bazaar sign, and interestingly all of the modern in-store signage follows the "Penny Bazaar" theme as well (there isn't a modern "Your M&S" logo to be seen!)
- I have no idea if the Newcastle operation is unique, but it deserves a mention in the article without a doubt. Ideally I would like to take a photograph and add it to the article, but I suspect the positioning of the stall and the lighting would make this difficult. 217.34.39.123 11:57, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Early Days Entry
Whats going on here? This is terribly written, with poor grammar and repetitions of information, as well as inconsistancies in the text! Was Mr Marks Belarusian? Was He Russian? This needs a nice rewrite. Apologies to the people who have written this, it needs love... --GeologyTom 17:21, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Credit Cards
--Bill Tegner 23:51, 7 February 2007 (UTC)My memory is that M&S brought in a store card because customers objected to their cash or cheque only policy. But they held out for far longer (in the UK) against credit cards, giving the impression of "it's our policy not to accept them" (never mind the customer). Can anyone remember when they started accepting them? I think that it was around 1999. Bill Tegner 23:51, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Financial Services
I couldn't find a reference to "Marks and Spencer Financial Services". Does this still exist?Bill Tegner 23:54, 7 February 2007 (UTC) --Bill Tegner 23:54, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Penny Bazaar in Newcastle
I have added a mention of this to the article. Incidentally, the Penny Bazaar is not listed on the M&S website, possibly because it now operates as a "satellite" of the full-sized Newcastle store. It's a well-kept secret. 217.34.39.123 12:33, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for doing that. It's good to know that it didn't get closed as part of the cutbacks when M&S was going through hard times.Drc79 18:05, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
