 The famed retailer is in trouble |
Marks & Spencer is preparing to cut many of its remaining ties with UK clothing suppliers as it tries to speed up its recovery, reports say. The iconic UK retailer has sourced much more of its products from abroad since a sharp sales slump in the late 1990s.
But now, the Sunday Telegraph says, the store is to cut out the UK agents who source the foreign goods on its behalf.
The move follows the loss of chairman Luc Vandevelde, and the hiring of new womenswear director Kate Bostock.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, M&S chief executive Roger Holmes is to announce the shift with the company's results on 25 May.
Although most of the materials for its clothing comes from abroad, all but a fraction is sourced via UK firms.
Mr Holmes told the Sunday Telegraph that the firm could switch to sourcing 20% of its products directly from overseas, predominantly the Far East and Eastern Europe.
The move could endanger thousands of jobs in the UK, the Sunday Times said.
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