Marks and Spencer ‘going into battle’ on sportswear

Marks and Spencer is ‘going into battle’ on sportswear after a lockdown-fuelled boom in sales. 

The retailer has launched more than 200 fitness products aimed at women under a section on its website for The Sports Edit, an online platform selling sports kit. 

M&S invested in the platform last year. The pandemic lifted sales of athletic gear as workers not going into the office exercised at home and started dressing down. 

In the game: M&S has launched more than 200 fitness products aimed at women under a section on its website for The Sports Edit, an online platform selling sports kit

In 2020, M&S launched its activewear brand Goodmove, offering leggings and sports bras, which sells 1.6m items every year. 

Co-chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe said it is ‘going into battle’ to snap up more of the £8.6billionn sportswear market dominated by big brands. 

The 55-year-old said the brands on The Sports Edit, which include Girlfriend Collective, FP Movement and Asics, will build on the ‘strong foundation’ of Goodmove. 

The Sports Edit founder Nick Paulson-Ellis, who still runs the business, said it had tailored its offering to customers and will help take M&S.com ‘to the next level’. 

M&S shares rose 1.2 per cent, or 1.85p, to 125.55p. It is the latest move in the retailer’s Brands at M&S Strategy, aimed at boosting online sales. 

M&S has launched more than 50 guest brands on its website. It has also teamed up with womenswear brands Sosandar and Nobody’s Child and sells menswear from Lyle & Scott and FatFace.