Marks & Spencer continues to be the UK's leading retailer of clothing and footwear by both value and volume, but its performance had been declining for almost a decade before the arrival of Stuart Rose and a new management team in 2004.
Rose pledged to rebuild consumer confidence in the Marks & Spencer brand by focusing on product, environment and service, and consumers have reacted with enthusiasm: in the year to March 2006, the fall in market share was successfully reversed, rising to 9.9 per cent from 9.7 per cent the year previously. And footfall in the stores rose by 350,000 per week to almost 15 million.
In a relatively short time Rose has delivered one of the UK's most dramatic retail turnarounds. In the year to March 2006, total revenue rose by 4.1 per cent to £7.8bn, and pre-tax profits rose 35 per cent to £751m. Britain's number one fashion retailer is back on course - reflected in the fact that Shopping Centre's readers voted it their retailer of the year.
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