Just two weeks after Marks & Spencer launched its Britain’s Leading Ladies campaign, starring Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren and artist Tracey Emin among others, some key lines have already sold out and others are only available in a handful of sizes on the website.
Four postcards with a host of models and celebrities are on display by store entrances, and customers are encouraged to order the items online, with web codes supplied alongside each garment.
However, it was found that about 75% of the clothes had sold out in at least one size. The lack of stock so early on could prove embarrassing for the group’s chief executive, Marc Bolland. Last year, he vowed to buy more stock after customers were left disappointed because buyers had failed to order enough knitwear used in its posters.
The independent retail analyst, Nick Bubb, said: “It is a classic mistake. You overhype something and disappoint people.”
