Online shopping at Marks & Spencer is expected to be "fully on" within four weeks as it recovers from a cyber attack, the retailer's boss has said. Although M&S restarted online orders in June, half of its online operations - including click and collect - are still down, Stuart Machin told the retailer's annual general meeting (AGM). M&S will then focus on getting its Castle Donington distribution centre "back and running", Mr Machin said. The retailer hopes that by August "we will have the vast majority of this behind us", he said. The cyber attack in April locked up M&S systems, hitting sales for about six weeks, and the hackers also stole some customer data. The attack, which disrupted M&S online shopping and left some shelves bare in stores, will hit this year's profits by around £300m, the retailer has estimated. This would only partly be covered by any insurance payout. Mr Machin told shareholders at the AGM: "Currently, half of online is open but not areas like click and collect. Within the next four weeks we are hoping for the whole of online to be fully on. "Then our focus will be getting the Donington site back and running." M&S had previously said services would continue to be disrupted in June and July. There are some signs that the disruption helped some of the retailer's rivals. Supermarket chain Sainsbury's said on Tuesday that it had seen "a little bit of benefit" from stock being down in M&S stores due to the attack. "It stands to reason. If a particular store is lower on stock in the moment, a customer will go somewhere nearby," said chief executive Simon Roberts. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that although the retailer had strength, "there's still a lot to get back online before the company can put the cyber attack behind it". There are early signs of "pent-up demand", for its summer fashion styles, "with many of the popular products sold out online". She added that its strong set of annual results showed the retailer was "in a resilient position" before the attack, which "bodes well for M&S ahead".
M&S 'fully back online in four weeks', says boss
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"Marks & Spencer Aims for Full Online Service Restoration Within Four Weeks"
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TruthLens AI Summary
Marks & Spencer (M&S) is on track to fully restore its online shopping services within four weeks following a significant cyber attack that disrupted operations earlier this year. During the retailer's annual general meeting, CEO Stuart Machin reported that while M&S resumed some online orders in June, about half of its online functionalities, including the click and collect service, remain unavailable. The cyber attack, which occurred in April, had a substantial impact on M&S’s systems, incapacitating sales for approximately six weeks and leading to the theft of some customer data. As a result, the retailer anticipates a hit to profits of around £300 million, a loss that will only be partially mitigated by insurance claims. Machin emphasized that the immediate focus is on bringing the Castle Donington distribution center back to full operational capacity, with hopes of overcoming the majority of the disruptions by August.
Despite the challenges, M&S is showing signs of recovery, though competitors like Sainsbury's have reportedly benefitted from the stock shortages at M&S stores. Sainsbury's CEO, Simon Roberts, noted that customers may turn to nearby stores when faced with limited stock availability. Financial analysts, including Susannah Streeter from Hargreaves Lansdown, acknowledged M&S's resilience prior to the attack, indicating that the company had a strong performance in its annual results. There are indications of pent-up demand for M&S's summer fashion items, with many popular products already sold out online. However, Streeter cautioned that the retailer still has considerable work ahead to fully recover from the attack and restore all its online services, emphasizing the importance of addressing these issues to regain customer confidence and stabilize the business moving forward.
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