Marc Bolland, the new chief executive of Marks and Spencer, is to examine its branded food trial as part of a strategic review of the high street bellwether.
Two years ago, M&S broke with 85 years of tradition by selling some of Britain’s best-loved brands in its stores alongside its own-label foods.
It has recently expanded big-brand foods – from PG Tips to Kellogg’s cornflakes – to all of its stores in an effort to revitalise its food business.
However, Bolland is looking closely at the trial – which includes about 400 branded lines – as part of his review, which some observers believe could lead to a scaling down of the number of branded products on sale.
The conclusions of the review are due to be announced on November 9 at the same time as M&S’s interim results.
Financial Times, p16