M&S set to overtake TK Maxx and Frasers as UK’s second-largest fashion retailer

M&S is set to climb to second place in Retail Week’s ranking of the top 30 UK fashion retailers by 2027/2028, overtaking fashion giants including TK Maxx, Frasers Group and John Lewis.

M&S reported UK sales, excluding food, of £3.72bn for the 2022/2023 financial year, up 11.5% year on year.

According to exclusive data provided by Retail Week’s sister brand Retail Navigator by Lumina Intelligence, the retailer is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% and sales are forecast to hit more than £5bn by 2027.

M&S has gone from frumpy to fashionable in recent years and has well and truly had a revival in the fashion market.

Coming in at second place, M&S is the only fashion retailer hot on the heels of retail giant Next. Both retailers have seen success with their third-party brand partnerships as well as strong own-brand offers.

The ranking included a range of fashion retailers including sportswear retailers JD Sports, Nike and Adidas, pureplay retailers Shein, Asos and Boohoo, as well as high street favourites Primark and Inditex.

Lumina Intelligence senior retail analyst Beth Bloomfield says that M&S has really laser focused on who its fashion customer is, which is proving to be a success.

“They’ve really thought about who their fashion customer is. They’ve got the sports edit range, the brands at M&S platform and have really taken away some share from players such as John Lewis.

“M&S is also opening its standalone clothing store, which I think will be a really interesting proposition.”

Fellow senior retail analyst at Lumina Inteligence Kate Doherty added: “I think what M&S has in common with brands such as Next and TK Maxx is that absolute obsession with their consumer, knowing exactly what the customer wants and not moving away from that.

“They have the ability to lean into what their core demographic wants while still being able to diversify but in a way that aligns well with their core retail offer.”

M&S won Fashion Retailer of the Year at the 2024 Retail Week Awards and was praised for its improvements in style and enhanced value.

The M&S ‘boutique-style’ fashion-only store is set to open at Battersea Power Station this autumn and will offer a curated range of womenswear, menswear and beauty products.