Marks & Spencer share price: Group teams up with Alexa Chung to revive fashion division

Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) has teamed up with model and TV presenter Alexa Chung on a fashion collection, seeking to breathe new life into its struggling clothing division.

The UK high street stalwart said yesterday the new 31-piece womenswear collection, which will launch in April, was curated and handpicked by Chung and is focussed on bringing back to life items from the group’s extensive archive. It said the project is the first of the retailer’s ‘M&S &’ series, a sequence of collaborations with designers, brands and fashion icons.
Chung, who created a veritable fashion furore last year when she was pictured in a £199 M&S skirt, said: “I have always had an affection for Marks & Spencer. I am thrilled to be part of this special and unique project.”

M&S has recorded just one quarterly increase in clothing sales over the past five years. The company brought in former Debenhams boss Belinda Earl as an advisor and has been through a string of clothing bosses in the past few years but has yet to find the right formula to win back shoppers. Steve Rowe, the current head of general merchandise, will become chief executive of M&S in April, taking over from outgoing boss Marc Bolland. Rowe has already shaken up the clothing management team and working with Chung is likely to be seen as a statement of his intent to breathe new life into the brand.
Marks & Spencer’ share price has risen this morning. As of 09:42 GMT, the retailer was changing hands at 420.20p, 1.11 percent up intraday. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index was 0.56 percent better off at 5,930.46 points.
As of 09:56 GMT, Friday, 05 February, Marks and Spencer Group Plc share price is 420.20p.