Every adult knows Marks & Spencer. Although not everyone will love it; my childhood memories include being dragged around M&S, House of Fraser and Jenners on Princes Street (being very bored)!<\/p>\n
However, not everyone may realise that this retailer was the first one to make \u00a31bn pre-tax profits or that they fell out the FTSE100 for the first time (in its 35 year existence) last September \u2013 shortly thereafter their CFO resigned, after only 14 months in post.<\/p>\n
So, who has the job of taking it back into the FTSE100 and how are they going to do that?<\/p>\n
Well, to give you some size and scale, Marks & Spencer is primarily based in the UK, sells into 57 countries from 1,487 stores, and 35 websites around the world. They employ over 80,000 people who serve about 32 million customers. They\u2019re focused on delivering quality products at great value for money. Below are some relevant points before we get into the role of the outgoing and incoming CFOs.<\/p>\n
The rise, fall and uncertainties of Marks & Spencer<\/h3>\n\n- Based on a reputation of selling British quality goods M&S grew from humble beginnings in 1884 to become a staple on the UK high-street<\/li>\n
- In 1997 it was the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over \u00a31bn<\/li>\n
- Shortly thereafter results plummeted to a relative-low in 2001 of just 10% what they were a few years before<\/li>\n
- Arcadia failed a takeover in 2004; M&S announced a recovery plan and sold off M&S Money to HSBC<\/li>\n
- Steve Rowe took over as CEO on 1 February 2016<\/li>\n
- Helen Weir, resigned as CFO in March 2018 and Humphrey Singer was appointed in July 2018<\/li>\n
- A wave of store closures, management changes and transformation programme followed<\/li>\n
- In September 2019, the high-street retailer is demoted outside the FTSE100 for the first time since its inception, over 30 years ago<\/li>\n
- Humphrey Singer resigns just 14 months after being in the post; officially left on 31 December 2019 (making that four\u00a0CFOs in the space of six years; Alan Stewart, Helen Weir, Humphrey Singer, David Surdeau)<\/li>\n
- Eoin Tonge will make that five\u00a0when he joins in June 2020.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/sloane.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/1_80-1.png\" "\\"1_80-1\\"")
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The fall and fall of Marks & Spencer\u2019s share price<\/em>
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The fall and fall of Marks & Spencer\u2019s profit before tax<\/em><\/p>\nThe CFO role<\/h3>\n
As I\u2019ve said many times before, the role of the CFO is wide and encompassing and the CFO is taking on more and more. It\u2019s a relatively lonely position because of the technical background they possess. At M&S, Singer was officially responsible for \u201cgroup financial performance, IT, investor relations and data governance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Data in a retailer is everything. Managing financial data is one thing across countries and verticals but the operational data from 32 million customers is huge. Ensuring single-version, high-quality data that is well-governed is a role in itself and using this huge volume of data to drive insight is absolutely key to a retailer.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s reported that \u201cnothing sinister\u201d happened and Singer\u2019s exit was due to the intensive nature of the restructuring underway. However, he was also seemingly key in the Ocado joint venture and this may have been where he dropped the ball in the eyes of Chairman, Archie Norman.<\/p>\n
In order to fund the Ocado deal, M&S issued a \u00a3600m rights issue at a significant discount, which ultimately pushed it outside the FTSE100. However, the deal (discussed in more detail below), could well be one of the most significant to maintain relevance in this new digital world.<\/p>\n
I will say it again, the role of the CFO is all-encompassing; from financial performance, IT, data, investor relations, analytics, business-wide performance and, as we\u2019ll see below, large-scale transformation programmes. It\u2019s a good reminder to self-assess how far-reaching your own CFO skillset is and how you are going about maintaining relevance.<\/p>\n
What game is M&S in?<\/h3>\n
While it is probably best known for good quality clothing, it is in the food, clothing and home, services (M&S Bank and M&S Energy) and property businesses. But what sells the most? Well, in fact it\u2019s food! In 2019 they sold \u00a35.9bn of food compared to \u00a33.5bn of clothing and home. This is in part thanks to the Simply Food stores.<\/p>\n
![\"Domestic](\"https:\/\/sloane.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/food_home_0-1.png\" "\\"food_home_0-1\\"")
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Domestic revenue split between food and\u00a0clothing\/home over time<\/em><\/p>\nAs M&S has seen the trend to food increase over time, they\u2019ve sourced a CFO that certainly has the credentials. Incoming Tonge spent 14 years at Greencore (the sandwich group), across treasury, investor relations, group comms, grocery division MD, group strategy, corporate development director and CFO. Although, clearly Greencore is not in the public eye as much as M&S which is something Tonge will need have to acclimatise to.<\/p>\n
Where are the synergies in a food business and a clothing\/home business? Well, they essentially sell their products and services to the same customer demographic and benefit from leveraging this same customer data. Like most large groups, it is\u00a0investing in data analytics and digital capabilities to create a strong customer insight function to better leverage this information to build customer loyalty, and thus increase customer lifetime value across the group.<\/p>\n
Interestingly M&S is looking to reduce full-line stores by a net 65 over the next few years, while also looking to increase food stores by 50 \u2013 a clear signal that food will continue to increase.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, Jill McDonald was brought in back in 2017 to head up clothing and home and beauty with zero experience in the fashion industry, she lasted just two years before she was ousted.<\/p>\n
So, where does that leave their clothing business, the area that\u2019s had the most criticism in recent years?<\/p>\n
Transformation programme<\/h3>\n
If you read Steve Rowe\u2019s Chief Executive Statement in their 2019 Strategic Report, it\u2019s a shopping list of management consulting projects. Like many large groups, they want to be a data-first or data-driven business; which in the world of retail is an absolute necessity. Their transformation programme crosses people, digital, property, strategy among others.<\/p>\n
Singer\u2019s CV highlights that he has \u201csignificant experience in delivering the transformational strategies of large listed businesses\u201d so it\u2019s a bit of a surprise that he left after only 14 months given his experiences would match up to the high aspirations M&S has with their change programme.<\/p>\n
However, in Singer\u2019s own words \u201cThe transformation taking place is of a scale, depth and pace not seen before at the company.\u201d With his departure during the transformation programme, does it suggest that financial benefits are elusive and extreme?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve highlighted just a few of their transformation projects that are more closely linked to the CFO role.<\/p>\n
Transforming our leadership and accountability<\/strong><\/p>\nThere have been a number of changes in the leadership team. The CFO role is key in any business but even more so in a FTSE100\/FTSE250 group where there are many eyes on your business and the market reacts resulting in share price fluctuations.<\/p>\n
Becoming a digital-first retailer across M&S<\/strong><\/p>\nThis relates to the above point but whereas M&S is a DTC business, Greencore is B2B and so there are differences Tonge will need to embrace if he\u2019s to also take on the role of data governance to help drive M&S to become digital-first.<\/p>\n
Protecting the magic and modernising the rest in food<\/strong><\/p>\nI wouldn\u2019t ordinarily relate the CFO to this one but clearly Tonge has vast experience in the food industry and he\u2019s clearly been brought in to leverage the 14 years he spent at Greencore. Expect a greater Food revenue mix going forward.<\/p>\n
Creating a high-quality store portfolio fit for the future<\/strong><\/p>\nAny property rationalisation, acquisition, development programme will undeniably involve the CFO assessing a multitude of aspects. I can imagine Singer amassed some good experience in this from his Dixons days but I\u2019m not as confident Tonge will have had as much exposure.<\/p>\n
Cost savings of at least \u00a3350m by 2020\/21<\/strong><\/p>\nWith any transformation, there is the inevitable search for top-line growth, margin improvement but also other operating model cost-cutting and this one is no different. M&S is looking to chop \u00a3350m off their overheads. They could always take a leaf out of 3G Capital\u2019s book and adopt zero-based budgeting<\/a>, responsibly.<\/p>\nJoint venture with Ocado<\/strong><\/p>\nThe integration and synergies with the Ocado joint venture will be key to a large part of the food growth. This will be where Tonge should absolutely shine, and M&S get their money\u2019s worth in their strategy.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always taken the view it\u2019s much better to join a business in trouble than a business on an absolute high because you can, in theory, make a much more positive impact on the business, after, of course, making your stamp by creating a new baseline to work from.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, the CFO will own the benefits case. I would expect any incoming CFO to challenge someone else\u2019s benefits case, so expect Tonge to do just that. But either way, he needs to be ready to roll up his sleeves, ruffle some feathers and make sure he delivers on the business case!<\/p>\n
For me, transformation is now just another required skillset for the modern, progressive CFO or as the role is more commonly being renamed, Chief Performance Officer.<\/p>\n
Digital competition<\/strong><\/p>\nThis will sound like a broken record (have a read of my HMV article on\u2026 err\u2026 records<\/a>) but it\u2019s another high-street retailer that has struggled to adapt to a changing environment.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The fall and fall of Marks & Spencer\u2019s share price<\/em> The fall and fall of Marks & Spencer\u2019s profit before tax<\/em><\/p>\n As I\u2019ve said many times before, the role of the CFO is wide and encompassing and the CFO is taking on more and more. It\u2019s a relatively lonely position because of the technical background they possess. At M&S, Singer was officially responsible for \u201cgroup financial performance, IT, investor relations and data governance.\u201d<\/p>\n Data in a retailer is everything. Managing financial data is one thing across countries and verticals but the operational data from 32 million customers is huge. Ensuring single-version, high-quality data that is well-governed is a role in itself and using this huge volume of data to drive insight is absolutely key to a retailer.<\/p>\n It\u2019s reported that \u201cnothing sinister\u201d happened and Singer\u2019s exit was due to the intensive nature of the restructuring underway. However, he was also seemingly key in the Ocado joint venture and this may have been where he dropped the ball in the eyes of Chairman, Archie Norman.<\/p>\n In order to fund the Ocado deal, M&S issued a \u00a3600m rights issue at a significant discount, which ultimately pushed it outside the FTSE100. However, the deal (discussed in more detail below), could well be one of the most significant to maintain relevance in this new digital world.<\/p>\n I will say it again, the role of the CFO is all-encompassing; from financial performance, IT, data, investor relations, analytics, business-wide performance and, as we\u2019ll see below, large-scale transformation programmes. It\u2019s a good reminder to self-assess how far-reaching your own CFO skillset is and how you are going about maintaining relevance.<\/p>\n While it is probably best known for good quality clothing, it is in the food, clothing and home, services (M&S Bank and M&S Energy) and property businesses. But what sells the most? Well, in fact it\u2019s food! In 2019 they sold \u00a35.9bn of food compared to \u00a33.5bn of clothing and home. This is in part thanks to the Simply Food stores.<\/p>\n Domestic revenue split between food and\u00a0clothing\/home over time<\/em><\/p>\n As M&S has seen the trend to food increase over time, they\u2019ve sourced a CFO that certainly has the credentials. Incoming Tonge spent 14 years at Greencore (the sandwich group), across treasury, investor relations, group comms, grocery division MD, group strategy, corporate development director and CFO. Although, clearly Greencore is not in the public eye as much as M&S which is something Tonge will need have to acclimatise to.<\/p>\n Where are the synergies in a food business and a clothing\/home business? Well, they essentially sell their products and services to the same customer demographic and benefit from leveraging this same customer data. Like most large groups, it is\u00a0investing in data analytics and digital capabilities to create a strong customer insight function to better leverage this information to build customer loyalty, and thus increase customer lifetime value across the group.<\/p>\n Interestingly M&S is looking to reduce full-line stores by a net 65 over the next few years, while also looking to increase food stores by 50 \u2013 a clear signal that food will continue to increase.<\/p>\n On the flip side, Jill McDonald was brought in back in 2017 to head up clothing and home and beauty with zero experience in the fashion industry, she lasted just two years before she was ousted.<\/p>\n So, where does that leave their clothing business, the area that\u2019s had the most criticism in recent years?<\/p>\n If you read Steve Rowe\u2019s Chief Executive Statement in their 2019 Strategic Report, it\u2019s a shopping list of management consulting projects. Like many large groups, they want to be a data-first or data-driven business; which in the world of retail is an absolute necessity. Their transformation programme crosses people, digital, property, strategy among others.<\/p>\n Singer\u2019s CV highlights that he has \u201csignificant experience in delivering the transformational strategies of large listed businesses\u201d so it\u2019s a bit of a surprise that he left after only 14 months given his experiences would match up to the high aspirations M&S has with their change programme.<\/p>\n However, in Singer\u2019s own words \u201cThe transformation taking place is of a scale, depth and pace not seen before at the company.\u201d With his departure during the transformation programme, does it suggest that financial benefits are elusive and extreme?<\/p>\n I\u2019ve highlighted just a few of their transformation projects that are more closely linked to the CFO role.<\/p>\n Transforming our leadership and accountability<\/strong><\/p>\n There have been a number of changes in the leadership team. The CFO role is key in any business but even more so in a FTSE100\/FTSE250 group where there are many eyes on your business and the market reacts resulting in share price fluctuations.<\/p>\n Becoming a digital-first retailer across M&S<\/strong><\/p>\n This relates to the above point but whereas M&S is a DTC business, Greencore is B2B and so there are differences Tonge will need to embrace if he\u2019s to also take on the role of data governance to help drive M&S to become digital-first.<\/p>\n Protecting the magic and modernising the rest in food<\/strong><\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t ordinarily relate the CFO to this one but clearly Tonge has vast experience in the food industry and he\u2019s clearly been brought in to leverage the 14 years he spent at Greencore. Expect a greater Food revenue mix going forward.<\/p>\n Creating a high-quality store portfolio fit for the future<\/strong><\/p>\n Any property rationalisation, acquisition, development programme will undeniably involve the CFO assessing a multitude of aspects. I can imagine Singer amassed some good experience in this from his Dixons days but I\u2019m not as confident Tonge will have had as much exposure.<\/p>\n Cost savings of at least \u00a3350m by 2020\/21<\/strong><\/p>\n With any transformation, there is the inevitable search for top-line growth, margin improvement but also other operating model cost-cutting and this one is no different. M&S is looking to chop \u00a3350m off their overheads. They could always take a leaf out of 3G Capital\u2019s book and adopt zero-based budgeting<\/a>, responsibly.<\/p>\n Joint venture with Ocado<\/strong><\/p>\n The integration and synergies with the Ocado joint venture will be key to a large part of the food growth. This will be where Tonge should absolutely shine, and M&S get their money\u2019s worth in their strategy.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always taken the view it\u2019s much better to join a business in trouble than a business on an absolute high because you can, in theory, make a much more positive impact on the business, after, of course, making your stamp by creating a new baseline to work from.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, the CFO will own the benefits case. I would expect any incoming CFO to challenge someone else\u2019s benefits case, so expect Tonge to do just that. But either way, he needs to be ready to roll up his sleeves, ruffle some feathers and make sure he delivers on the business case!<\/p>\n For me, transformation is now just another required skillset for the modern, progressive CFO or as the role is more commonly being renamed, Chief Performance Officer.<\/p>\n Digital competition<\/strong><\/p>\n This will sound like a broken record (have a read of my HMV article on\u2026 err\u2026 records<\/a>) but it\u2019s another high-street retailer that has struggled to adapt to a changing environment.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\nThe CFO role<\/h3>\n
What game is M&S in?<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nTransformation programme<\/h3>\n