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Retail lord checks out China domain
By Elise Fu |
00:00 UTC+8 February 15, 2009
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BRITISH retailing giant Marks & Spencer is where Stuart Rose started his career in 1972. After almost 20 years with other major retailers, he returned to the company in 2004 as president.
He is now firmly at the helm to guide the company through a global retail decline.
The international retailer has experienced significant modernization, expansion and profit gain under Rose's stewardship of brand revitalization.
Last year, Marks & Spencer made its first step onto Chinese mainland, opening the Shanghai store on Nanjing Road W. after many years of planning in line with the company's international expansion objectives.
"We wish to develop our international business to a greater degree, which means we aim to get 20 percent of our revenue from overseas within probably five years,?Rose said this week during a three-day visit to Shanghai.
"At present it is around 7 or 8 percent and an important part of this strategy is our development in China,?he added.
Rose is not only a successful business leader, but has a rich and varied lifestyle.
He pilots his own plane and enjoys the finer things in life.Q: You started your career at Marks & Spencer and returned after a 20-year absence to become president. With a declining global economy and trying to establish the company in China, how are you positioning the store in the market?
A: We are facing an unprecedented global economic downturn and Marks & Spencer cannot escape that.
We are doing the same things in our business as many others, making sure that our costs, our cash management are carefully controlled.
And, sadly, we also had to make one or two cost cutting measures. But we do not have any plans to cut jobs or close doors in China.
We have only been opened here for three or four months, so we are still learning. Broadly speaking, we aim to be an affordable retailer, a valuable retailer; not a high-price retailer.
Q: After 20 years, what brought you back to the company? How did you revive the company?
A: I came back to Marks & Spencer because I was offered one of the greatest jobs in UK retailing which is head of a company with a history of 125 years and which still stands for quality, value, service, innovation and trust.
I was brought back to the company to help take it forward because it had a very difficult period between 1999 and 2004, failing to invest in its product in terms of styling and value, and it needed to be taken into the 21st century with modernized stores.
Sadly, we are now facing a very difficult economic situation.
Q: Shanghai is renowned for its prosperous retail market where many strong international operators such as H&M and ZARA are well-established. What do you think of the market and Marks & Spencer's competitiveness?
A: I want to tell you about another retail giant called "Marks & Spencer.?We are different to H&M and ZARA. What we offer is fantastic value, quality and innovation to mainstream customers.
So we are about fashion with a small "f,?we are about fashion for the masses, we are about making sure that we have a broad range of clothes for everyone; we are a different type of retailer.
The trick for all retailers is to make sure we adapt to good times and to bad times. And at the moment it is tough times and the stronger will survive.
We have to give our customers the very best value for money and the best in terms of new products and innovation.
Q: You have connections to China because it is your father's birthplace. So how many times have you been to Shanghai, and what are your impressions?
A: I have been here three or four times, the last in 2007. The city is getting more exciting and it's amazing to see the transitions. I like Shanghai's beauty, its vibrancy and its continual change.
Q: I had a great shopping experience in Marks & Spencer's Hong Kong store before you opened in Shanghai. I was impressed by its product variety, high quality and reasonable prices. In the Shanghai store, I notice there is a limited variety of goods and food and higher prices. So what is your target market and target price range here?
A: We have 20 years trading experience in Hong Kong and now want to extend that into the Chinese mainland. I am proud that our first venture is in Shanghai and clearly it is just the beginning.
We are here for the long term and the catalogue is affectively the same generated from our worldwide catalogue.
What we need to do very quickly is to understand the local needs. You can see many of our food products have been sold out, a problem of supply and replacement that we are trying our best to solve.
Q: I heard that you are called "Champagne Charlie.?What's the reason for this and how do you balance your time between work and play?
A: (Laughing) I don't respond to that nickname although it's been quoted in newspapers before. All I can say is that I am not having enough Champagne.
It is not (a name) that people who know me would recognize. I do have many hobbies; I fly my own plane, enjoy travel, food and wine.
But unfortunately I don't have much time to pursue my hobbies. It is always a difficult thing to balance and now I must spend more time on Marks & Spencer's businesses.
Q: Are you wearing Marks & Spencer yourself?
A: Yeah, here look, everything is Marks & Spencer. Oh, except my tie, not today, but some days.
I believe that the men should be like the women. It would be unusual for a woman to wear one brand exclusively.
And what women do is clever, they mix brands to get them to match. Half of my clothes are roughly from Marks & Spencer and half are not. I really like to mix and match.
He is now firmly at the helm to guide the company through a global retail decline.
The international retailer has experienced significant modernization, expansion and profit gain under Rose's stewardship of brand revitalization.
Last year, Marks & Spencer made its first step onto Chinese mainland, opening the Shanghai store on Nanjing Road W. after many years of planning in line with the company's international expansion objectives.
"We wish to develop our international business to a greater degree, which means we aim to get 20 percent of our revenue from overseas within probably five years,?Rose said this week during a three-day visit to Shanghai.
"At present it is around 7 or 8 percent and an important part of this strategy is our development in China,?he added.
Rose is not only a successful business leader, but has a rich and varied lifestyle.
He pilots his own plane and enjoys the finer things in life.Q: You started your career at Marks & Spencer and returned after a 20-year absence to become president. With a declining global economy and trying to establish the company in China, how are you positioning the store in the market?
A: We are facing an unprecedented global economic downturn and Marks & Spencer cannot escape that.
We are doing the same things in our business as many others, making sure that our costs, our cash management are carefully controlled.
And, sadly, we also had to make one or two cost cutting measures. But we do not have any plans to cut jobs or close doors in China.
We have only been opened here for three or four months, so we are still learning. Broadly speaking, we aim to be an affordable retailer, a valuable retailer; not a high-price retailer.
Q: After 20 years, what brought you back to the company? How did you revive the company?
A: I came back to Marks & Spencer because I was offered one of the greatest jobs in UK retailing which is head of a company with a history of 125 years and which still stands for quality, value, service, innovation and trust.
I was brought back to the company to help take it forward because it had a very difficult period between 1999 and 2004, failing to invest in its product in terms of styling and value, and it needed to be taken into the 21st century with modernized stores.
Sadly, we are now facing a very difficult economic situation.
Q: Shanghai is renowned for its prosperous retail market where many strong international operators such as H&M and ZARA are well-established. What do you think of the market and Marks & Spencer's competitiveness?
A: I want to tell you about another retail giant called "Marks & Spencer.?We are different to H&M and ZARA. What we offer is fantastic value, quality and innovation to mainstream customers.
So we are about fashion with a small "f,?we are about fashion for the masses, we are about making sure that we have a broad range of clothes for everyone; we are a different type of retailer.
The trick for all retailers is to make sure we adapt to good times and to bad times. And at the moment it is tough times and the stronger will survive.
We have to give our customers the very best value for money and the best in terms of new products and innovation.
Q: You have connections to China because it is your father's birthplace. So how many times have you been to Shanghai, and what are your impressions?
A: I have been here three or four times, the last in 2007. The city is getting more exciting and it's amazing to see the transitions. I like Shanghai's beauty, its vibrancy and its continual change.
Q: I had a great shopping experience in Marks & Spencer's Hong Kong store before you opened in Shanghai. I was impressed by its product variety, high quality and reasonable prices. In the Shanghai store, I notice there is a limited variety of goods and food and higher prices. So what is your target market and target price range here?
A: We have 20 years trading experience in Hong Kong and now want to extend that into the Chinese mainland. I am proud that our first venture is in Shanghai and clearly it is just the beginning.
We are here for the long term and the catalogue is affectively the same generated from our worldwide catalogue.
What we need to do very quickly is to understand the local needs. You can see many of our food products have been sold out, a problem of supply and replacement that we are trying our best to solve.
Q: I heard that you are called "Champagne Charlie.?What's the reason for this and how do you balance your time between work and play?
A: (Laughing) I don't respond to that nickname although it's been quoted in newspapers before. All I can say is that I am not having enough Champagne.
It is not (a name) that people who know me would recognize. I do have many hobbies; I fly my own plane, enjoy travel, food and wine.
But unfortunately I don't have much time to pursue my hobbies. It is always a difficult thing to balance and now I must spend more time on Marks & Spencer's businesses.
Q: Are you wearing Marks & Spencer yourself?
A: Yeah, here look, everything is Marks & Spencer. Oh, except my tie, not today, but some days.
I believe that the men should be like the women. It would be unusual for a woman to wear one brand exclusively.
And what women do is clever, they mix brands to get them to match. Half of my clothes are roughly from Marks & Spencer and half are not. I really like to mix and match.
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