Marks & Spencer will welcome Nobody’s Child to 48 more stores across the UK from March, bringing the total number of M&S stores which feature the responsible fashion brand to 60.
As well as welcoming the brand back to popular locations including Trafford Manchester, the pop-up shops will be introduced to 24 new locations, including Bath, Edinburgh, and Nottingham.
The launch is the next phase of the partnership – with M&S previously providing financial support to the sustainable clothing brand. In 2021 M&S acquired a 27% stake in the brand, and in 2023 provided fresh funding to support Nobody’s Child’s growth.
Extending which stores Nobody’s Child feature in also follows the success of pop-up shops last year, when M&S trialled the concept in 30 stores for Spring / Summer. During the season, over 86,000 M&S customers shopped Nobody’s Child in store, with sales of the brand also jumping by +126% (vs LY) on M&S.com.
Furthermore, the pop-up shops were proven to drive new customers to M&S – 20% having previously not shopped dresses at M&S – while continuing to complement the core range with one in five customers also purchasing an M&S dress. During the period, in the stores which had the pop-up shop, average customer spend on womenswear was up 8.6%, which contributed to an increase in total dress sales of +16%.
The 450ft pop-up shops will offer a capsule collection of over 30 pieces from Nobody’s Child’s SS24 collection, including theNobody’s Child x Happy Place by Fearne Cotton collection.
M&S and Nobody’s Child will also introduce a more diverse selection with many new dress shapes as well as jersey tops, jeans, blouses, relaxed tailoring and a coordinating linen blend collection. With their heartland in distinct floral prints, the carefully curated capsule collection will continue to complement and enhance the core Spring Summer range at M&S.
Nishi Mahajan, director of third-party brands at M&S, commented: “Nobody’s Child were the first third-party brand that we introduced to our ‘Brands at M&S’ platform and they continue to be one of the most-loved by our customers.
“Last year, the pop-up shops were a huge success, complementing and enhancing our core range to make M&S the destination for dresses during the spring / summer season – whether it’s for work, weekend or special occasions. Our partnership with Nobody’s Child is a proof point to the success of our Brands at M&S strategy – when we get the partnership right, everyone wins.”
The Nobody’s Child extension is just the latest move to boost M&S’ third-party offering. In February, the retailer added sportswear giants Puma and Reebok to its ‘The Sports Edit on M&S’. M&S.com is now home to 20 third-party sports partners, which include five out of the top ten global sportswear brands.
Last year, M&S welcomed Estée Lauder Fragrance to its third-party beauty offering, following the successful introduction of Clinique. In total there are 60 labels under the Brands at M&S banner – others include Crew Clothing, Skechers and Toms.
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