M&S (Marks & Spencer) turns 125 tomorrow. My mum who lives in Leeds (where M&S started as a single market stall) is off to a special event tomorrow at M&S, so I thought I would check out the corporate site for more info. I use to shop at M&S when I lived in the UK but have not been there for several years. Visiting there site I was impressed by several things.

Firstly is the companies decision to drop the full name and using just M&S. People have been calling it this for years, it is shorter, punchier and makes for a stronger brand.

Adding “YOUR” before the M&S as part of the wordmark is great messaging, letting the customer know they are important.

On some of the items on the site, say a page showing a suit, there are small videos (as well as the usual photos and product details) which is great. It shows you in motion what the item of clothing looks like, how it moves and interacts when being worn, it is a great sales tool.

Finally, there is some great videos like the one by Zandra Rhodes talking about inspiration and breaking rules. Watch here (click on ‘M&S Interviews’ in the side nav).

Reading the history of M&S on Wikipedia is a great read, highlighting the rise, fall and rise again of a company over a 125 year span.

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