Today (15 February) 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 bolster its sportswear offer as part of its ‘Brands at M&S’ strategy.
More than 140 products from the global sportswear brands will be added to M&S.com throughout February and March, including a range of performance and lifestyle apparel and footwear, such as Reebok’s bestselling 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 by +110% vs LY. M&S.com is now home to 20 third-party partners which include five out 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 across more than 800 products from both third-party brand partners, as well as M&S’ own brand activewear collection – Goodmove – which continues to go from strength to strength selling over 1.6 million items annually.
The sportswear market was estimated to be worth over £15.3bn in the UK in 2022, accounting for approximately 26% of total spend on apparel and is expected to continue to grow by 16.3% between 2022 and 2027. M&S continues to double-down on its sportswear offer, welcoming third-party brand partners that complement and complete its own-brand offer, with branded footwear, leggings, sweat tops and outerwear particularly popular amongst M&S customers.
Nishi Mahajan, director of third-party brands at M&S, commented: “Sportswear is an integral part of our wider Brands at M&S strategy as we continue to grow market share and brand credibility in the category. Our dedicated platform has been carefully curated to cater for every style, energy level and price point, complementing and completing the strength we have in our core Goodmove range. We’re growing at pace – and there is more to come this year.”
Nick Paulson-Ellis, founder and CEO of The Sports Edit, commented: “Our carefully curated edit of sportswear partners on The Sports Edit platform on M&S.com now includes five out of the top ten global sportswear brands, with more to follow later in the year – and we’re still only one year in.”
Brands at M&S Strategy
The Sports Edit is part of the wider ‘Brands at M&S strategy, having invested in the platform at the end of 2022. The Brands at M&S platform has now grown to over 90 third-party brands. The carefully curated approach is driving new customers, frequency and increased spend, while ensuring that the majority of orders also contain an M&S product. While brand partners of M&S have access to over 30m M&S customers, substantial customer data and engagement alongside omni channel purchase and return opportunities.
Reebok will be available on M&S.com from February, with Puma available in March.
