Marks and Spencer is committed to supporting UK farming going forward and supplying top quality for customers.
So said Johnathan Sutton, Marks and Spencer technical manger, addressing delegates at FPJ Live in Warwickshire today (28 April).
“Our core values of inspiration, innovation, integrity and in touch remain much the same as our founding principles set out 130 years ago,” he said. “Integrity underpins everything in our food.
“We started controlling the source where product comes from a long time ago to have integrity and quality throughout the supply chain. This is important to customers and important to us.”
Sutton said Marks and Spencer was committed to becoming the world’s most sustainable retailer, and would “aggressively” defend its quality-product “heartland” against the discounter retailers, who are rapidly expanding their grocery market share in the UK.
Sutton attributed Marks and Spencer’s growing market share in food – quarter-on-quarter growth over the last few years – against the backdrop of a challenging UK retail environment, to its relationship with growers.
“Our success is built on working relationship with our growers,” he said. “We’ve had relationships with some of our growers for over 50 years, through the generations.
“We want to support UK growers where possible and minimise the impact of imports. A great example is how we’ve expanded our UK asparagus season to starts around Valentine’s day and go through to the autumn.”
Sutton added that Marks and Spencer doesn’t audit its fresh produce suppliers; its payment principles are based on trust – a rarity in the UK retail industry now.
The retailer also employs a team of agronomists to work with its grower suppliers, and over the last three years Marks and Spencer has spent over £4m on key strategic farming projects around the world, with many in the UK.
“Our projects support farms in UK, to show there is a future for UK farmers to supply UK retailers. There’s no point being the world’s most sustainable retailer if we have no suppliers,” said Sutton.
“We continue to support growers in difficult challenges they face. If a farmer wants to expand – we help them.
“Marks and Spencer are committed to long-standing relationships with our growers. We are delighted to work with some of the most innovative growers in the sector and we have launched a scholarship programme for farmers, and work with Cranfield University on innovation in farming,” he added. “We are absolutely committed to farming for the future.”
