M&S Tech Council puts focus on sustainability technology
Marks and Spencer this week activated an M&S Tech Council, which brought its top technology partners together to tackle at speed some of the biggest challenges the retailer faces.
“Our mission is not just to meet regularly but to foster an innovative and collaborative culture to transform how we serve our 30 million customers each year,” Mike Yorwerth, Chief Technology Officer at Marks and Spencer, said in a LinkedIn post.
“What better way to kick start this than by facing into one of the biggest commitments we’ve made to ourselves and customers; decarbonising M&S and our operations to be fully net zero across our entire value chain by 2040 - from mills to tills and farms to forks.”
He added: “Sharon Peters, who heads up sustainability tech for M&S, outlined what we need to do – and while the scale and speed with which we need to act with is scary and urgent – each of us identified huge opportunities to make a real difference.”
“We were all inspired for action and I am very much looking forward to the results that will be achieved from this.”
Mad for it
M&S recently opened a new concept store at the Roaring Meg retail park in Stevenage.
The 75,000 sq ft location features clothing, a marketplace style foodhall with ‘Fill Your Own’ stations, a beauty department, an opticians and a 174 seat cafe.
It also has a celebrity fan in former Oasis front man Liam Gallagher.
During late May, Gallagher was in Stevenage ahead of a concert to mark the 25th anniversary of Oasis' era defining gigs at Knebworth Park.
He played the biggest show of his solo career to date on 3rd and 4th June.
After a “little mooch around Knebworth”, Gallagher popped in to the aforementioned M&S store and was blown away, informing his 3.6 Twitter followers that it was “outrageously good”.
Various M&S employees were quick to acknowledge this on social media.
Marguerita Bayliss-Stranks, People Partner at Stevenage, for instance, said on LinkedIn: “In 1994, when I was the VP of societies at Coventry Uni, I met Noel and Liam Gallagher and Oasis as a new band on the scene.”
“I booked them to play a small bar at the Uni. Their songs were “Wonderwall ” and “Whatever”. We enjoyed their cusp of greatness and truly thought they were amazing!’
“Roll on 2022. This tweet has really made me smile!!! 28 years later. I’m the People Partner for M&S Stevenage and Liam has been in my store and he thinks it’s amazing/outrageously good. How life collides!”
Continue reading…