Figurehead

There aren’t all that many CEOs and Managing Directors that I generally feel are worth the money they’re paid, but one of the exceptions to that rule seems to be Stuart Rose, the MD of Marks and Spencers. I’ve seen him on the TV Business programmes/sections a couple of times now, and he always manages to get his point across, and seems to stand up and say what he thinks.

Today’s instance of this was regarding M&S’s latest sales figures, which while still slightly down (a whole 0.2%) are doing a lot better than previous quarters. Prior to the interview, he’d brought in a rack of M&S clothes, which conveniently managed to be in-shot with the interviewer – straight away, a pretty smart move. They then talked about the sales figures, and the interviewer then came up with some comment about how their clothes were still expensive, that M&S weren’t taking on the supermarkets in their clothing pricing. Rose picked up four or five items off the rack, and told the interviewer “This one’s £15, this one’s £25, this one’s £30, and this one that you say is expensive is cashmere – yes, it’s £65, but it’s still the cheapest cashmere sweater on the market. We’re not going to compete with the supermarkets, but we want to give our customers value. That’s a combination of price, longevity, and style. Not just price.”

I can’t deny, I’m quite impressed with an MD who actually knows the prices of the stuff his shops are selling. Oh – and wears the stuff himself – the last interview I saw, he could honestly show the label of his suit jacket, and say “Yes, I’m wearing an M&S suit – what kind of MD would I be, to come here not wearing my own company’s clothing?“.

Definitely a refreshing viewpoint…