M&S views revamping its fashion supply chain as essential for online expansion.

M&S Online Growth Strategy: M&S aims to double its annual online non-food sales to nearly £3bn and increase the online share of total fashion, home, and beauty sales from 34% to 50% through a supply chain overhaul and better utilization of its product range.

Supply Chain Overhaul Investment: The retailer plans a £120m investment in automation over three years to enhance capacity, reduce complexity, and achieve significant cost savings, while maintaining job levels despite increased automation.

Competitive Positioning: M&S is currently lagging behind competitors like Next in online penetration by at least 10 percentage points, presenting a significant opportunity for growth in the online market.

Recent Challenges: The fashion, home, and beauty segment of M&S experienced a downturn in sales in the first half of the financial year due to disruptions from a cyber attack affecting online operations.