Looking Good:   Window Display at M&S - M&S Archive

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Home // Discover // Online Exhibitions // Looking Good: Window Display at M&S
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In this exhibition

1. Early Years 2. Modernisation 3. Refining Our Art 4. The Second World War 5. The Display Manual 6. High Street Fairytale 7. Plan for Development 8. Well Presented 9. Dressed for the Job 10. Into the Sixties 11. The Seventies 12. Changes in the 80s 13. A New Millenium 14. Today

1. Early Years

2. Modernisation
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Leeds Penny Bazaar in c1884, Van Jones 1950s
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M&S Penny Bazaar, Newcastle 1906
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M&S Penny Bazaar, Wakefield 1903
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M&S Penny Bazaar, Bath 1909
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This is our Manchester Oldham Street store in the early 1900s with the 'Admission Free' sign displayed, as well as an enticing ‘Great Bargains’ sign.
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Early Years

From the beginnings of the business, Michael Marks wanted to make shopping a simple and enjoyable experience.

Products were laid out on tables, so that customers could examine items. Signs carried the slogan, ‘Don’t ask the price, it’s a penny’.

In 1894 Michael went into partnership with Tom Spencer, and new Marks & Spencer branches were opened in shop premises.

Shop fronts were painted red and used eye-catching signage. Our Penny Bazaars had large ‘Admission Free’ and ‘Inspection Invited’ signs in gold lettering – an early marketing strategy to show customers that this was an experience other stores didn’t offer.

2. Modernisation

1. Early Years 3. Refining Our Art
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This photograph shows typical window displays of the 1920s.
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The interior of our Manchester Oldham Street store in 1925.
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Modernisation

In 1916 Michael’s son Simon took over the business and modernised stores, moving towards a department store model.

At the time Simon took over, window display design was built around putting out as much stock as possible. This also applied inside the store where goods were piled high on every surface.

This wasn’t without strategy. Emphasis was placed on seasonality: for example, household goods would be prominently displayed for spring cleaning, fleecy gloves would be featured in winter and swimsuits in the summer.

3. Refining Our Art

2. Modernisation 4. The Second World War
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Birmingham store after modernisation in the early 1930s with wide aisles and bright lighting.
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Fancy Goods display, Blackpool, 1932
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Mary Had a Little Lamb-themed window display for wool, 1936-1941
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A corset and brassieres display, 1937
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A neat display of men’s shirts with detachable collars and pyjamas, 1937
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Dresses with the emphasis on the range of prints available, 1937
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A display of St Michael overalls that were guaranteed to wash and wear well, 1937
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We were selling a wide range of food at this time, which leant itself to beautiful, if precarious displays!
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Jam display, 1930s
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A beautifully arranged display in the window of Hartlepool store, 1926
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Refining Our Art

The 1920s saw huge expansion at M&S, and in 1926 we started to sell clothing.

New, larger stores were built and old stores were expanded, with wider aisles and better lighting.

A 1927 staff bulletin states how the window was the ‘mirror to the store’. We said ‘A window is not properly dressed if it looks as though a heap of goods has been thrown into it. Merely to fill a window is not to dress it’.

Products were grouped by use and department, for example, slippers with stockings or men’s ties with shirts.

We said: ‘People come to our stores because they are bright and attractive, and … satisfy their spirit for entertainment … the display should be an entertainment and instruction for the passers-by’ Staff Bulletin, 1928.

4. The Second World War

3. Refining Our Art 5. The Display Manual
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Café Bar in Ealing Broadway store, 1930s-1940s
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Sheffield temporary store in Lansdowne Cinema, 1941-52
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Sheffield temporary store in Lansdowne Cinema, 1941-52
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Sheffield temporary store in Lansdowne Cinema, 1941-52
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Site of the destroyed Plymouth store, 22nd April 1941
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When Plymouth store was destroyed in April 1941, we moved into the city’s Pannier Market.
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Our Coventry store was was destroyed by an air raid on 14th November 1940.
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A month after Coventry store was destroyed we opened a temporary store in a disused garage .
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Interior of Coventry’s temporary store, December 1940
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The Second World War

In the 1940s, blackout rules meant that our stores lost window display space.

Stock was in short supply so stores quickly looked empty and less inviting. One solution to this problem was the introduction of Café Bars.

In 1939 we had Café Bars in three stores, by the end of the war there were 80. As well as providing customers with a cheap meal, they were ideal for filling floor space and making stores look full!

During the war 16 stores were destroyed and many were damaged. To keep trading, we opened temporary stores as quickly as possible.

When Sheffield store was destroyed, we moved into the nearby Lansdowne cinema. The building had its own challenges, special counters were built to fit the sloping floor and dress racks were screwed onto blocks of wood to stop them rolling away.

5. The Display Manual

4. The Second World War 6. High Street Fairytale
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Front cover of M&S Display Manual, April 1948
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Shirt display in M&S Display Manual, April 1948
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Instructions for stocking and shoe displays, c1951
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Colour wheel in M&S Display Manual, April 1948
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Tips on designing layouts, M&S Display Manual, April 1948
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A Girl’s Future leaflet, c1946
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Window Dressing School, A Girl’s Future leaflet, c1946
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The Display Manual

Staff training in Visual Merchandising continued after the war.

This Display Manual from April 1948 states, ‘Few things have changed more during our lifetime than the practice of display, and in this process the profession has gained prestige and is recognised as a new type of industrial art’.

Display manuals gave tips on how to create arrangements, colours that worked together, design and grouping.

In 1946 we advertised store jobs in a leaflet entitled A Girl’s Future, including a section on Window Dressing School. We said ‘The Sales Assistant with a good eye for display qualifies as a Window Dresser’.

6. High Street Fairytale

5. The Display Manual 7. Plan for Development
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Edinburgh store on its opening day, 12th June 1957
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Brixton store was built into a railway bridge, so displays were incorporated into the new look of the 1950s stores.
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Window dressers feature, Staff Management News, May 1952
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The Display Digest gave instruction on inspiration-led displays and how price signage should appear.
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High Street Fairytale

In the 1950s we began to standarise store appearance, making M&S easy to recognise on the high street.

Wood panelling was replaced by open plan layouts with more light and more hanging space to display clothing.

Simon Marks said ‘We are building a fairyland on the high street’ Paul Bookbinder, Simon Marks: Retail Revolutionary, 1993.

 

Window dressers and floor supervisors were encouraged to work together to create displays, and to share knowledge with other staff.

In 1952 we said ‘Be ready to discuss elementary principles of display and colour blending, with anyone who shows interest. The more ‘display-minded’ people there are in store the better’ Staff Management News, May 1952.

7. Plan for Development

6. High Street Fairytale 8. Well Presented
Plan for development film
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Plan for Development

This two-minute advert from 1963 was shown in cinemas before the main feature.

It ran in cinemas near stores where building work was in progress.

As you’ll see, the information we gave customers is interesting, as well as talking about our improved layout and the ease of shopping in store, there’s a lot of emphasis on the number of doors in the new building!

8. Well Presented

7. Plan for Development 9. Dressed for the Job
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In this photo of Leeds staff in c1900 it’s possible that the lighter necktie denoted a different store role.
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Staff were still wearing mis-matched uniforms in the late 1920s, as shown in this photograph of Darlington staff in 1926.
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Harrogate staff, 1929
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Staff Bulletin, 1927
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Well Presented

The role of employees in the look of the store was as important as the products.

There was no formal uniform in the early days of M&S, sales assistants wore a black dress or a white collar, for example, until a standardised uniform was introduced in the 1940s.

A 1927 staff bulletin gives tips for increasing sales on the Confectionery department. We said ‘Clean, healthy looking girls are required … they should be given facilities for keeping their hands clean and their nails manicured. Nothing puts a customer off so much as to be served sweets by an untidy looking girl’.

9. Dressed for the Job

8. Well Presented 10. Into the Sixties
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Always Dressed for the Job, Staff Management News, 1950
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Sales assistant appearance in A Guide to Display, 1971
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Dressed for the Job

Sales assistants in the 1950s received advice on how to dress for the job.

Staff were encourage to  make regular repairs to their uniform, keep nails short and brush away face powder from dress collars.

A 1971 Guide to Display notes ‘When you dress a window, passers-by notice you just as much as the merchandise … A neat hairstyle, light make-up, cared-for hands and nails make you as attractive as the merchandise you are displaying’.

10. Into the Sixties

9. Dressed for the Job 11. The Seventies
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This advert is for the opening of our Glasgow Argyll Street store in 1966.
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Store interior at Sheffield The Moor, 1963
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Till points at Birmingham store, 1964
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A 1960s window display of men’s shirts
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Fridges in our Provisions department, 1960s
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A display of nightdresses, 1960s
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Store modernisation, St Michael News, January 1965
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Into the Sixties

In the 1960s new stores and facilities were celebrated in adverts, giving a glimpse of our in-store displays at the time.

The January 1965 edition of our staff magazine, St Michael News, describes a new approach to window display. It says ‘Merchandise can be placed on stands, or it can be suspended from the ceiling. Fifteen years ago the company adopted the suspension method of window dressing … it was felt that a new look was timely.’

Details of our modernisation programme are given, ‘Improvements have included escalators serving sales floors, entirely new ventilating systems, improved store lighting and better layout of departments for easier shopping, all designed for greater customer comfort.’

11. The Seventies

10. Into the Sixties 12. Changes in the 80s
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This 1971 Guide to Display includes a guide to using background colours.
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This 1971 Guide to Display gives detailed tips on displaying childrenswear
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Suggested merchandise grouping, Guide to Display, 1971
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The Marksman campaign was the first time we had used mannequins to display outfits together, 1972
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Window display from the Marksman campaign, 1972
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Window display from the Marksman campaign, 1972
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The Seventies

Principals for window display in the 1970s hadn’t changed much since the 1930s and 1940s.

Window dressers had to consider issues like having sufficient stock to back up displays, colours being grouped artistically, overdressed windows and changing the displays regularly.

The Marksman campaign was trialed in 1972, with bold colours and the tagline ‘For Today’s Marksman’.

This campaign targeted male customers directly for the first time. Although sales increased during the trial period, the colours were considered too gimmicky and the campaign was not rolled out nationally.

12. Changes in the 80s

11. The Seventies 13. A New Millenium
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A grouping of mannequins bringing the sales floor to life, 1980s
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Knitwear display, 1980s
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Display using mannequins, 1980s
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Changes in the 80s

By the early 1980s, store decor hadn’t changed for several years and ‘stores looked drab and dreary with ugly brown carpets and low counters.’ Judi Bevan, The Rise and Fall of Marks & Spencer, 2001.

Within two years half of our UK stores had a new look, with pastel colours and light wood, wider aisles and better lighting.

The effect was dramatic and immediate…

‘in one store business doubled in a week when we changed the scene but not the clothes’ Judi Bevan The Rise and Fall of Marks & Spencer, 2001.

We introduced mannequins in 1983, allowing store display teams to show customers complete, co-ordinated outfits.

13. A New Millenium

12. Changes in the 80s 14. Today
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Food hall display, 2000s
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Clothing display, 2000s
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In store display, 2006
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per una brand display, 2006
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In store bakery counter, 2006
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A New Millenium

In 2000 we developed the NVQ Level 2 in Visual Merchandising.

This was the first time Visual Merchandising, or VM, had been recognised as a formal qualification. The number of Visual Merchandisers in stores increased as VM became a core part of all retail areas.

We introduced clearer layouts and brighter environments. M&S Food Hall design moved away from a supermarket feel to specialised deli counters and bakeries.

In clothing, our new sub-brands determined store layout. However, this meant that it could be hard to find items quickly. Layouts were reviewed and changed back to grouping clothing by garment type rather than brand.

14. Today

13. A New Millenium
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Current store display, 2020s
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Current store display, 2020s
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Mannequin positioning and styling, 2020s
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Today

Visual Merchandising teams today focus on hitting the ‘sweet spot’, attracting new customers whilst retaining our core customer.

Emphasis is on garments that can be worn by all ages but styled differently, so styling showcases outfits that can be tweaked to suit.

We’ve also changed the language we use to better fit how people wear their clothes, for example Formal is no longer a category, instead it’s Smart Casual.

Stores are now less ‘inspiration led’ where garments were grouped by occasion, and more ‘item led’ with products grouped by type like denim, knitwear or coats for example.

These changes have made our stores easier to navigate, while still showcasing the versatility and quality of our products.

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