Marks & Spencer no longer sells men’s suits at more than half of its 254 bigger stores as the pandemic hit “fast forward” on the trend for casual wear.
It said men’s preferences were already shifting to “smart separates” such as chinos and shirts before coronavirus.
But Wes Taylor, director of menswear at M&S, said: “Covid hit fast forward on the trend to more casual dressing that was already in train.”
Now the retailer only sells men’s suits at 110 large shops.
In total, sales of them in the UK have fallen by 2.3 million over five years, according to the market research firm Kantar Group.
It said men purchased two million of them in the year to July compared to 4.3 million for the same period in 2017.
The decline in M&S stores selling men’s suits, which was first reported in The Sunday Times, was already being seen in 2019 when the retailer said sales fell by seven per cent.
However, in the first two months of the Covid pandemic, when millions of people were forced to work from home, M&S said it sold just 7,500 suits – a fall of 80% compared to the same period in the previous year.
In contrast, it said, “shorts and jogger sales were up”. Mr Taylor said: “During the pandemic we worked hard to adapt our product offer to be more relevant to customers’ rapidly changing needs.”
While M&S says it has seen some increase in demand following the easing of Covid restrictions and weddings now being allowed to take place, Mr Taylor said: “Our Smartwear is now more focused on smart separates – easy to wear, stylish smart clothing that can be worn in lots of different ways”.
The average spend on men’s suits has also declined over the past decade, according to Kantar, from a high of £534m in 2011. Some five years ago, spending on men’s suits hit £469m but fell to just £159m in the 12 months to July.
Kantar said that although there has also been a fall in sales of women’s suits over five years, it is less pronounced than men’s professional wear. In the year to July, women bought 500,000 of them compared to 600,000 in 2017.
M&S said it continues to sell ties and shirts at its 254 larger stores which offer clothing as well as food.
M&S has around 700 stores in total, the majority of which are food-only but people who buy suits online can have them delivered to any of its shops.
The retailer also launched an online video consultation service during the pandemic for men seeking advice on buying suits. (BBC)
