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Marks and Spencer to open stand-alone technology departments |
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Date added - 20/07/07 Marks and Spencer has announced plans to enter the competitive electronics sector. This will be the first time M&S have ever tried to sell stand-alone technology devices like LCD televisions and digital cameras. M&S will not be attempting to equal the supermarkets on prices, their focus will be on customer service. They have recently commissioned a report which showed that a large proportion of the UK population do not enjoy shopping for electronic products like LCD screens. The main complaints were pushy sales tactics by most electrical retailers, uninformed sales assistants, confusing instore displays and instruction manuals. The report also found that technology has advanced at such a rate that nearly half of people surveyed did not even know what simple terms like LCD, HD Ready and Mp3 meant. It is at these people that Marks & Spencer plans to aim it's service. The new departments will feature solely trained technology staff, in-store explanations of technical jargon and in some cases M&S will rewrite instruction manuals. At present there are no plans for an 'St. Michael' own-brand, currently they are stocking household names like Sony and Panasonic. Depending on how well the initial stores perform, there are plans to expand the range of products and brands stocked for a wider nationwide launch. And they have not ruled out a 'St. Michael' brand long-term. Steve Rowe new head of the technology department said, “We hope the technology dedicated areas will be key to the success of our stores. Customers want the best prices, but also helpful assistants and a technological jargon explained.” It hasn't been all plain sailing however, M&S recently courted controversy that they may not stock the bugged Xbox 360 console, a press released later retracted the rumor, "Customers can be assured we will stock the 360 and all gaming
packages that suit their requirements."
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