Something to celebrate: The range of wines at M&S — a range that has grown in 40 years.
MANILA, Philippines – Marks & Spencers celebrates 40 years of M&S wines, which it first launched in its food section in 1973 after a year’s feasibility study and a lot of work on the ground — both in Baker Street and in the vineyard.
The range went out to 12 stores initially and was such a success that it was rolled out very quickly. The original range consisted of eight wines, four sherries and a small range of traditional ales. And what an eclectic mix it was: a white vin de table, Liebfraumilch, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, a French sparkling white rubbing shoulders with three reds and a rosé: Vin de table rouge, Beaujolais, Chianti Classico and Rosé d’Anjou.
In a world where everything in M&S was under the St. Michael label, wine was an exception. It had been registered by a small company years before. Eventually swallowed up by Allied Lyons, the chairman of Allied presented the trademark as a surprise to Lord Sieff in 1980.
Wines had always been seen as rather exotic: by its very nature foreign travel was involved, it had its own tasting room and storage facilities. There was also an inherent squirrel mentality, perhaps to do with the product! As a result, when M&S moved from Baker Street, the archive received a pretty comprehensive record of the department’s history and the trend has continued.
