Today (February 15) Marks & Spencer has announced it will welcome sportswear giants Puma and Reebok to its 'The Sports Edit on M&S' platform, as the retailer continues to strengthen its sportswear offering as part of its 'Brands at M&S' strategy.
More than 140 products from global sportswear brands will be added to M&S.com throughout February and March, including a range of performance and lifestyle clothing and footwear, such as Reebok's best-selling footwear styles, the Club C and the Nano.
The latest arrivals follow the launch of The Sports Edit on M&S.com in February 2023; In the 12 month period, searches for sportswear on M&S.com have grown +110% versus LY. M&S.com is now home to 20 external partners including five of the top ten global sportswear brands: adidas, Puma, Columbia, ASICS and Reebok, as well as Sweaty Betty and Girlfriend Collective.
The dedicated sportswear platform offers customers curated inspiration on over 800 products from partner external brands, as well as M&S' own brand Goodmove's sportswear collection, which continues to go from strength to strength selling over 1.6 million items year.
The sportswear market is estimated to be worth more than £15.3 billion in the UK in 2022, representing approximately 26% of total apparel spending and is expected to continue growing at 16.3%. between 2022 and 2027*. M&S continues to double down on its sportswear offering, welcoming external brand partners who complement and complete its own brand offering, with branded footwear, tights, sweatshirts and outerwear particularly popular with M&S customers.
Nishi Mahajan, director of third-party brands, at M&S commented: “Sportswear is an integral part of our wider Brands strategy at M&S as we continue to grow market share and brand credibility in the category. Our dedicated platform has been carefully selected to cater for every style, energy level and price point, complementing and completing the strength we have in our core Goodmove range. “We are growing at a good pace and there will be more to come this year.”
Nick Paulson-Ellis, founder and CEO of The Sports Editcommented: “Our hand-picked edition of sportswear partners on The Sports Edit platform on M&S.com now includes five of the top ten sportswear brands globally, with more to come later this year, and we're still just a year of “.
Brands at M&S Strategy
Sports Edit is part of 'Brands at M&S' wider strategy as it invested in the platform in late 2022. The Brands at M&S platform has now grown to over 90 third-party brands. This carefully curated approach is driving new customers, frequency and increased spend, whilst ensuring the majority of orders also contain an M&S product. While M&S brand partners have access to over 30 million M&S customers, important customer data and engagement along with omnichannel shopping and returns opportunities.
