Archie Norman’s unconventional, hands-on approach to fixing Marks & Spencer
‘Our middle name is "false dawn". Our board has been a glitterati of the British business establishment, but the company hasn’t changed’
London — Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman broke with convention when he arrived at the UK retailer’s London headquarters in 2017, turning down a private office and positioning his desk prominently out in the open. From his perch in the engine room of a once-proud British institution that’s fallen on hard times, Norman quickly started asking questions about things he didn’t like: why was it selling hoity-toity venison steaks but not the humble shepherd’s pie? Why was it charging more than $150 for Christmas trees? If anyone at the glass-sheathed offices doubted Norman’s determination to get to the bottom of the food-and-clothing chain’s woes — or to move on from previous management’s failed strategies — the chairman set them straight this week when the company disclosed £514m of write-offs for past mistakes. "Our middle name is ‘false dawn,’" Norman said at a media briefing. "Our board has been a glitterati of the British business establishment, but the company hasn’t changed. ...
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