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Marks & Spencer and the Decline of the British Textile Industry, 1950–2000

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2016

Steven Toms  and
Qi Zhang
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From the end of World War II, British clothing retailers—most notably, Marks & Spencer (M&S)—increasingly dominated the domestic textile industry, to some extent arresting its decline. This article uses financial and archival evidence to examine the distribution of costs and benefits in the M&S vertical network. It shows that these benefits became less tangible for textile firms from around 1985, in the context of lower-cost overseas competition. We chart the visible and invisible evolution of network management, demonstrating that retailer-producer collaboration evolved from a bilateral vertical partnership model to a hybrid version that retained partnerships with leading suppliers and an emphasis on domestic sourcing, but also facilitated offshore production.

Since 1945, staple domestic industries in Western economies have been replaced with global production networks. In the United Kingdom, the cotton textile industry, and then the textile industry in general, declined in the face of increasing overseas competition. Survival strategies were based on restructuring and concentration. During a period of rapid transformation after 1960, cotton was absorbed into vertically structured textile conglomerates. Still, the decline continued, and as protection was phased out, fabric and apparel manufacturing faced similar threats, although rates of decline and strategic response depended on relative position in the vertical production chain. An alternative survival strategy based on vertical partnerships was led by retailers, particularly the dominant clothing retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S).

Type
Research Article
Information
Business History Review , Volume 90 , Issue 1 , Spring 2016 , pp. 3 - 30
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Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2016 

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References

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16 U.S. import restrictions led developing countries to target Europe, which in turn led Europe to adopt protectionist measures, resulting in the MFA between the United States and the European Union in 1973, based on quotas subject to annual increases of 6 percent. Vinod Aggarwal and Stephen Haggard, “The Politics of Protection in the U.S. Textile and Apparel Industries,” in American Industry in International Competition: Government Policies and Corporate Strategies, ed. John Zysman and Laura Tyson (Ithaca, N.Y., 1984), 253–54, 265, 296; David Ricks, “An Overview of Government Influence,” in The Global Textile Industry, ed. Brian Toyne (London, 1984).

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21 Mellahi, Jackson, and Sparks, “An Exploratory Study”; Ka Kui Tse, Marks & Spencer: Anatomy of Britain's Most Efficiently Managed Company (Oxford, 1985).

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27 One example is the Vantona Group; see Higgins, David and Toms, Steven, “Financial Institutions and Corporate Strategy: David Alliance and the Transformation of British Textiles, c.1950–c.1990,” Business History 48, no. 4 (2006): 453–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

28 Chapman, “Decline and Rise,” 178; Chapman, Hosiery and Knitwear, 238–40. The policy was implemented notwithstanding threats of blacklisting by the WTA.

29 Chapman, Hosiery and Knitwear, 240–48.

30 Mellahi, Jackson, and Sparks, “An Exploratory Study.”

31 Asa Briggs, Marks & Spencer 1884–1984: A Centenary History (London, 1984), 65–68.

32 Lorraine Montford, “Quality Management and Supplier Development” (Doctoral dissertation, University of Durham, 1998), 41–42.

33 Stopford, John and Baden-Fuller, Charles, “Flexible Strategies: The Key to Success in Knitwear,” Long Range Planning 23, no. 6 (1990): 56–62CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Under the MFA, competition was from low-cost European countries such as Portugal. Jonathan Zeitlin and Peter Totterdill, “Markets, Technology, and Local Intervention: The Case of Clothing,” in Reversing Industrial Decline? Industrial Structure and Policy in Britain and Her Competitors, ed. Jonathan Zeitlin and Paul Hirst (New York, 1989), 178.

34 See, for example, Ormerod, Allan, “The Decline of the U.K. Textile Industry: The Terminal Years, 1945–2003,” Journal of Industrial History 6, no. 2 (2003): 1–33Google Scholar.

35 Zeitlin and Totterdill, “Markets, Technology, and Local Intervention,” 164–65, 173.

36 Stopford and Baden-Fuller, “Flexible Strategies,” 58.

37 Key Note Publications, Clothing Manufacturers: An Industry Sector Overview (Teddington, U.K., 1989).

38 Chapman, Hosiery and Knitwear, 255–56; see also Zeitlin, “Clothing Industry in Transition,” 212, table 1.

39 Buck, More Ups Than Downs, 112.

40 Ibid., 111; Scheffer, Trading Places, 226.

41 Johnson, “Marks & Spencer.”

42 Buck, More Ups Than Downs, 112.

43 Ibid., 111; Scheffer, Trading Places, 227.

44 Greenbury led M&S from 1988 to 1999. Bevan, Rise and Fall of Marks & Spencer, 100–104.

45 Ibid., 114–15.

46 Janice Warman, “Sweet and Sour News from M&S Suppliers,” Guardian, 12 Nov. 1988.

47 Bennett to Samuel, 20 Mar. 1980, HO/5/1/205, MSCA.

48 Jarillo, “On Strategic Networks,” 38.

49 For example, Courtaulds group companies; see Northgate Group Ltd, correspondence, Goldberg to Samuel, 12 Oct. 1967; Atkinson to Samuel, 8 Oct. 1970, Samuel to Morris, 30 Nov. 1973, E5/1/140, MSCA; Dewhirst correspondence, A. Dewhirst to M. Epstein, 1 July 1974, E5/1/55, MSCA.

50 M&S built up shareholdings in Corah throughout the 1960s and 1970s and held 3 percent of the ordinary shares of NMC in 1975. Statistical abstract, 1975, A04/1125, MSCA; Fishwick and Cornu, A Study of the Evolution, 182.

51 The investment included a major new factory at Driffield. J. Samuel, speech at Dewhirst annual general meeting, 15 June 1973, E5/1/55, MSCA.

52 Dewhirst correspondence, Dewhirst to Samuel, 20 Apr. 1976 and 10 Nov. 1975, E5/1/55, MSCA.

53 Dewhirst correspondence, Dewhirst to Epstein, 23 Sept. 1974, E5/1/55, MSCA.

54 For example, the closure of Carrington Viyella's plant at Winsford in 1983 received assistance. Carrington Viyella Supplier File, Memorandum, W. Wood to R. Greenbury, 24 Mar., 1983, E/1/38, MSCA.

55 William Baird Supplier File, Memorandum, 15 Aug. 1985, HO/5/1/235, MSCA.

56 Firms were selected from those listed in the textile and apparel sector in Datastream. M&S suppliers were selected from the core group upon which M&S increasingly relied during the 1990s.

57 Variance of return was 24.01 percent and 37.21 percent for M&S and non-M&S suppliers, respectively.

58 Textile Outlook International, Sept. 1996, 31.

59 M&S suppliers averaged accounting returns of 13.3 percent and non-M&S suppliers 12.2 percent; variances of return were 163.84 percent and 139.24 percent, respectively, suggesting that accounting returns were more volatile than stock market returns for both groups and that association with M&S mitigated the perception of risk among investors.

60 “Viyella-Vantona Merger,” New York Times, 19 Oct. 1982; James Erlichman, “Vantona Results Impress the City,” Guardian, 27 Feb. 1985; Andrew Cornelius, “Textile Link-up Spears Fight against Imports,” Guardian, 18 June 1985; Patience Wheatcroft, “Coats on Verge of Vantona Merger,” Times, 10 Feb. 1986; Robert Peston, “Coats Set to Offer £200m for Tootal,” Independent, 3 Mar. 1991; “Coats Acquires Corah,” Times, 6 Oct. 1994.

61 “Ill-will Could Sour Coats Victory,” Times, 18 May 1991.

62 For example, Coats Viyella's bid for Tootal was referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, which noted that although both firms were significant M&S suppliers, they also supplied Burtons, House of Fraser, and uniforms to public-sector organizations. House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (HCPP), Monopolies and Mergers Commission: Coats Viyella Plc and Tootal Group Plc, Cm.833, 1991 (London), 14.

63 Jeffrey Arpen and Brian Toyne, “The Textile Mill Complex and the Textile Mill Products Industry,” and Andy Barnett, “Economics of the Global Textile Industry,” in Toyne, The Global Textile Industry, 26–27, 100, tables 2.5, 5.21.

64 Stengg, Werner, “The Textile and Clothing Industry in the E.U.,” Enterprise Papers 2 (June 2001): 4Google Scholar.

65 Hirst, Paul and Zeitlin, Jonathan, “Flexible Specialisation and the Competitive Failure of U.K. Manufacturing,” Political Quarterly 60, no. 2 (1989): 164–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Zeitlin and Totterdill, “Markets, Technology, and Local Intervention.”

66 Heron, Tony, “European Trade Diplomacy and the Politics of Global Development: Reflections on the E.U.–China ‘Bra Wars’ Dispute,” Government and Opposition 42, no. 2 (2007): 190–214CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

67 “Why a U.K. Clothing Manufacturer Seeks Liberalization of the MFA,” Textile Outlook International, Mar. 1986, 53.

68 Stengg, “Textile and Clothing,” 21.

69 Will Hutton, “Britain Fights Battles of an Earlier Reality: The Munich Summit,” Guardian, 9 July 1992.

70 Dean Spinager, “Textiles beyond the MFA Phase-Out,” CSGR Working Paper 13/98, Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation, University of Warwick, 1998, p. 3.

71 The average return on capital for M&S between 1949 and 2000 was 26.6 percent.

72 Mercer, “Retailer-Supplier Relationships.”

73 Zara, a subsidiary of Inditex (Spain), first entered the British market in 1998 with a branch in London's Regent Street. John Willcock, “People and Business,” Independent 12 Nov. 1998.

74 Crofton, Stephanie and Dopico, Luis, “Zara-Inditex and the Growth of Fast Fashion,” Essays in Economic and Business History 25 (Jan. 2007): 41–53Google Scholar. Zara has increasingly sourced from low-cost-labor countries. Tokatli, Nebahat, “Single-Firm Case Studies in Economic Geography: Some Methodological Reflections on the Case of Zara,” Journal of Economic Geography 15, no. 3 (2015): 631–47Google Scholar.

75 Alexander Garrett, “Rags to Riches as Empire Strikes Back,” Guardian, 3 Nov. 1996.

76 Sarah Cunningham, “More Jobs to Go as Courtaulds Textiles Reshapes,” Times, 11 Sept. 1996.

77 William Baird Supplier File, Memorandum, 15 Aug. 1985, HO/5/1/235, MSCA.

78 The evidence complements the work of Nirmalya Kumar, who provides specific examples of distributional justice (the perceived fairness of the outcomes received), distinguishing it from procedural justice (the perceived fairness of the powerful party's process for managing the relationship), in the M&S-supplier relationship. See Kumar, Nirmalya, “The Power of Trust in Manufacturer-Retailer Relationships,” Harvard Business Review 74, no. 6 (1996): 101–103Google Scholar.

79 Coats and Charnos complained of inadequate returns on investment through supplying M&S in the 1990s; M&S imposed cuts in suppliers’ margins in 1984, 1991, and 2000. Chapman, Hosiery and Knitwear, 261, 331.

80 Global Sourcing Principles, “Holding Statement,” Sept. 1998, A04/76, MSCA.

81 Johnson, “Marks & Spencer,” 3–4.

82 HCPP, Trade and Industry Committee, Memorandum by Marks & Spencer plc (HK3) 231, 1992 (London). The countries used were Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

83 Garrett, “Rags to Riches as Empire Strikes Back.”

84 Press releases stressed that M&S was a retailer, with no responsibility for the actions of its suppliers. See, for example, Jane Lowe Memorandum, 13 Mar. 1999, A04/76, MSCA.

85 Camillo Fracassini, “M&S Under Fire for Urging Suppliers to Use Foreign Labour,” Scotsman, 10 Sept. 1998.

86 Annual Report and Accounts, Chairman's Statement, 1989, p. 6, 1992, p. 4, CR/D/64&67, MSCA.

87 Annual Report and Accounts, Chairman's Statement, 1995, p. 3, CR/D/70, MSCA.

88 Annual Report and Accounts, Chairman's Statement, 1996, 1997, 1998, CR/D/71-73, MSCA.

89 Fracassini, “M&S Under Fire for Urging Suppliers to Use Foreign Labour.”

90 “Unravelling,” Economist, 2 Jan. 1999, 63.

91 Keith Blois, “‘B2B Relationships’—A Social Construction of Reality? A Study of Marks & Spencer and One of Its Major Suppliers,” Marketing Theory 3, no. 1 (2003): 79–95; Johnson, “Marks & Spencer,” 4.

92 Debbie Harrison, “Network Effects following Multiple Relationship Dissolution” (paper presented at 17th Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group Conference, Oslo, 2001), 10. Use of McKinsey reflected M&S's continued lack of expertise in overseas sourcing. On the use of consultants to achieve such “knowledge economies,” see Chris McKenna, The World's Newest Profession (Cambridge, U.K., 2006).

93 Preliminary Results Announcement, 31 Mar. 2000, HO/5/7/21/149, MSCA.

94 Ibid.

95 Northgate Group Ltd, correspondence, Knight to Sieff, 17 Dec. 1979, E5/1/140, MSCA.

96 Economic Intelligence Unit, Mediterranean Textiles and Clothing (London, 1989), 92.

97 Carl Mortished, “Cast Off in a Material World,” Times, 6 May 1996 speculated that losses at the Coats factory were “probably known to M&S.” Mauritius had preferential access to European and U.S. textile markets. “Keys to Export Success: Mauritius,” International Trade Forum 4 (Oct.–Dec. 1999): 28Google Scholar.

98 Owen, Rise and Fall of Great Companies, 189.

99 Gillian Bowditch, “St. Michael's Guardian Angel Image Dented by Recession,” Times, 12 Sept. 1991. By 1993, Dewhirst was selling 85 percent of its output to M&S. Robert Cole, “Dewhirst Stitches Together 47% Advance at Half-time,” Independent, 14 Sept. 1993.

100 Baird Textile Holdings Ltd. v. Marks & Spencer plc, [2001], Court of Appeal, official transcript, EWCA, civ 274.

101 Peter Smith, “M&S Suppliers: It's a Family Affair,” Investors Chronicle, 22 Oct. 1993.

102 Martin Barrow, “M&S Army Has a New Recruit,” Times, 1 Apr. 1991.

103 Jason Nisse, “Claremont Demerger Fears,” Independent, 27 June 1991.

104 Higgins, David and Toms, Steven, “Explaining Corporate Success: The Structure and Performance of British Firms, 1950–84,” Business History 53, no. 1 (2011): 85–118Google Scholar.

105 Robert Cole, “Claremont Cash Call Will Fund Purchase,” Independent, 20 June 1992; Michael Baws, “New Claremont Look in Fashion at M&S,” Daily Mail, 20 June 1992; Robert Cole, “Claremont Buys Milnes,” Independent, 21 Aug. 1992; “Companies: Mergers and Acquisitions – Claremont Garments,” Investors Chronicle, 28 Aug. 1992.

106 Simon Domberger, The Contracting Organization: A Strategic Guide to Outsourcing (Oxford, 1998), 6–7. Claremont's investments led to a two-week production cycle, compared to a six-week cycle at Corah. Buck, More Ups Than Downs, 156.

107 Leading fashion designer Caroline Charles was hired in August 1993. Coats Viyella had already hired Ally Capelino in a similar move. Susan Gilchrist, “Designer Fashions Chic Trend at M&S,” Times, 31 Aug. 1993; Press Association, “Sales Boom at M&S Supplier Claremont,” 6 Sept. 1993 (unpublished newswire/press release).

108 Montford, “Quality Management,” 39. Likewise, Dewhirst had subcontractors in Romania. In Morocco, outward processing and subcontracting for European firms led to a rapid expansion between 1987 and 1991. “Profile of Morocco's Textile and Clothing Export Industry,” Textile Outlook International, July 1994, 111.

109 Sarah Bagnall, “The Price Is Right for Claremont,” Times, 13 Sept. 1995; Nigel Cope, “Claremont Axes 10% of Staff on a Day of Redundancies,” Independent, 20 Mar. 1996, 17. Claremont's closure of Pollockshaw resulted in the loss of 720 jobs, with others transferred to Peterlee. “Tip of the Week: Claremont Garments,” Investors Chronicle, 31 July 1998; “700 Jobs Threatened by Claremont Closure,” Times, 18 Oct. 1996; “Claremont Closure to Cut 700 Jobs,” Times, 21 Dec. 1996; Richard Phillips, “Claremont's No Fashion Victim,” Independent, 1 June 1997; Peter Jackson, “Claremont's Disposal Is Tailor-made,” Journal, 16 Dec. 1997. Overseas sourcing was used for commodity items such as school shirts. Fraser Nelson, “Claremont Pays £2.5m to Revenue,” Times, 27 June 1998. Countries such as Romania, Lithuania, and Slovakia offered the advantages of lower-cost skilled labor suitable for labor-intensive processes in apparel manufacture. Giovanni Graziani, “Globalization of Production in the Textile and Clothing Industries: The Case of Italian Foreign Direct Investment and Outward Processing in Eastern Europe,” BRIE Working Paper 128, Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., 1998.

110 Company Profile, 7 Nov. 1994, H/5/7/21/149, MSCA. Comparable minimum-wage rates were 1321MAD per month, or 50p per hour, and 72p per hour for qualified women workers (calculated using equivalent exchange rates from wage data in “Profile of Morocco's Textile and Clothing Export Industry,” 126).

111 Company Profile, 1994. In the United Kingdom, the proposed minimum wage of £4.05 per hour would have benefited around one-sixth of manual workers and three million part-time workers earning less than £3.70 and £4.15 per hour, respectively. Seumas Milne, “New Evidence Fuels Debate on Minimum Wage,” Guardian, 28 Dec. 1994. For 70 percent of firms, labor cost was the most important factor in delocalization decisions. In the Moroccan case, the government also offered generous tax relief to foreign investing companies. “Profile of Morocco's Textile and Clothing Export Industry,” 124, 126.

112 Jane Lowe, “Piece for Sunday Mirror,” memorandum, 12 Mar. 1999, A04/76, MSCA; Andrew Gardner, “Made in Morocco for Marks & Spencer,” Sunday Mirror, 14 Mar. 1999.

113 Gardner, “Made in Morocco for Marks & Spencer.”

114 According to a holding statement of March 12, 1999, “We employ over 60 qualified food scientists and technologists, who regularly visit suppliers all over the world” to ensure they “implement our codes of practice.” Press Office, “Holding Statement,” 12 Mar. 1999, A04/76, MSCA.

115 Lowe, “Piece for Sunday Mirror.”

116 Johnson, “Marks & Spencer,” 8; cf. Global Sourcing Principles, “Holding Statement,” Sept. 1998, A04/76, MSCA. The statement noted that M&S had been working on codes of conduct “for some time” (since at least before 1996, a reference to “Granada litigation” suggests) and included long-term relationships, continuous improvement, and regular visits.

117 Fraser Nelson, “Claremont Price Takes 34p Tumble,” Times, 18 Mar. 1998; “Tip of the Week: Claremont Garments”; Owen, Rise and Fall of Great Companies, 191. A profits warning followed and the shares were suspended after further falls in June 1998. Jon Ashworth, “A Week in the City,” Times, 21 Mar. 1998; Robert Cole, “Claremont Garment Shares Suspended,” Times, 20 June 1998. The underpayment arose because clothes imported from the Netherlands, originally produced in non–European Union countries, were incorrectly declared, resulting in a £2.5 million additional tax liability. Nelson, “Claremont Pays £2.5m to Revenue.”

118 Nigel Cope, “Claremont Hit by Duty Black Hole,” Independent, 20 June 1998; Nelson, “Claremont Pays £2.5m to Revenue.”

119 Sarah Cunningham, “Claremont in Takeover Talks,” Times, 11 Aug. 1998. On September 1, 1998, the takeover panel of the London Stock Exchange was notified of discussions of a possible offer. London Stock Exchange, Aggregated Regulatory News Service, 1 Sept. 1998.

120 For example, bills of exchange drawn by Courtaulds were accepted by M&S. Supplier files correspondence, Security National Pacific Bank to M&S, 7 Oct. 1982, HO/5/1/50, MSCA.

121 In January 1995, Courtaulds appointed a design director and invested £7 million in a design facility dedicated to M&S supply. “Profile of Courtaulds Textiles,” Textile Outlook International, Sept. 1995, 69.

122 Courtaulds achieved a 38.2 percent return on capital on its offshore and Asian activities, compared to 14.6 percent on all activities in 1994. “Profile of Courtaulds Textiles,” 54, 68, and table 7.

123 William Kay, “Cut from the Finest Cloth,” Independent, 3 Jan. 1993; Rupert Bruce, “Courtaulds Sheds 4000 Employees,” Independent, 6 Sept. 1991. For example, M&S sold its French spinning business to Mossley Group and sold woolen weaving manufacturer Courtaulds Woollens to Drummond Group. International Business News, “Mossley Group (U.K.) Acquires Courtaulds’ French Spinning Business,” Europolitics, Nov. 1991, 24; “Courtaulds Sale,” Times, 3 Jan. 1992.

124 Richard Thomson, “M&S Sends a Sobering Signal,” Independent, 31 Mar. 1991. While lingerie production was buoyant, the firm further rationalized its spinning capacity, closing four mills. Jason Nisse, “Courtaulds Textiles Wins £40m Profits,” Independent, 1 Mar. 1991; Bruce, “Courtaulds Sheds 4000 Employees.” M&S argued that by holding its retail prices, and not passing the VAT increase on, it was protecting British suppliers by guaranteeing volume. Annual Report and Accounts, Chairman's Statement, 1992, p. 4, CR/D/67, MSCA.

125 Jason Nisse, “Courtaulds Set for European Purchase,” Independent, 28 Feb. 1992; “Courtaulds Spins a Ripping Yarn,” Investors Chronicle, 10 Apr. 1992. In January 1992, Courtaulds acquired the design company Arabella Pollen. Roger Tredre, “Capellino and Coats Hope to Change Clothing,” Independent, 28 July 1992. The strategy was underpinned in part by the development in the late 1980s of Tencel, a specialist upmarket denim product. Owen, Rise and Fall of Great Companies, 156–57.

126 Rupert Bruce, “High Interest Rates Handicap Courtaulds,” Independent, 4 Sept. 1992.

127 Owen, Rise and Fall of Great Companies, 185–86. The partners in the joint venture were the U.S. firm The Limited and the Sri Lankan firm MAS Holdings. Courtaulds also added to its majority holding in Chelco following Chelco's privatization in 1993. “Profile of Morocco's Textile and Clothing Export Industry,” 126.

128 Sarah Bagnall, “Courtaulds Slides on Second Profit Warning,” Times, 2 May 1996.

129 In 1997 Dewhirst acquired an established factory in Casablanca, Morocco. “Profile of Dewhirst Group and Martin International,” Textile Outlook International, Mar. 1999, 59.

130 John Willcock, “Courtaulds Textiles Sacks Chief Executive,” Times, 6 June 1996; Sarah Cunningham, “More Jobs to Go as Courtaulds Textiles Reshapes,” Times, 11 Sept. 1996.

131 Magnus Grimond, “Fast Progress by Courtaulds,” Independent, 11 Sept. 1997; Owen, Rise and Fall of Great Companies, 191.

132 Warburg Dillon Read, Press Release, 16 Sept. 1998, A04/76, MSCA; Courtaulds Textiles, Corporate Communications, “Successful Offer for Claremont,” 14 Oct. 1998, A04/76, MSCA.

133 Owen, Rise and Fall of Great Companies, 191.

134 Corporate Communications, “Holding Statement,” 16 Sept. 1998, A04/76, MSCA.

135 Cameron Simpson and Roy Rogers, “Textile Giant's Job Cuts Enrages Union,” Herald, 2 Dec. 1998, 10; Janice Warman, “M&S Ills Hit Textile Industry,” Guardian, 19 Nov. 1998. Dewhirst relocated most of its production to Morocco, Malaysia, and Indonesia. “Profile of Dewhirst Group and Martin International,” 53, 57, 62.

136 Owen, Rise and Fall of Great Companies, 192.

137 Anna Minton, “Courtaulds Textiles to Switch More Production Overseas,” Financial Times, 24 Nov. 1999. See figure 2 above; see also Bevan, Rise and Fall of Marks & Spencer; Mellahi, Jackson, and Sparks, “An Exploratory Study.”

138 Blois, “B2B Relationships,” 85.

139 Lucy Baker, “Courtaulds Shares Leap 20% on Boost from M&S,” Independent, 24 Nov. 1999; Minton, “Courtaulds Textiles to Switch More Production Overseas.” Courtaulds relied on M&S for 40 percent of its sales. Gareth Dant, “Courtaulds Enjoys Sales Lift from M&S,” Northern Echo, 24 Nov. 1999.

140 Minton, “Courtaulds Textiles to Switch More Production Overseas.”

141 Press Office, “Holding Statement,” 12 Mar. 1999, A04/76, MSCA.

142 Sourcing Statement, June 1998; see also Global Sourcing Principles, Sept. 1998 and Standby Statement, Christian Aid, 27 Oct. 1997, A04/76, MSCA.

143 Although accounting for 40 percent of turnover, M&S contracts accounted for only 22 percent of Baird's profits. “Profile of William Baird,” Textile Outlook International, July 2001, 80, 83, 91.

144 High Court, Official Transcript, Baird Textile Holdings Ltd. v. Marks & Spencer plc, [2000] All ER (D) 895, 9.17.

145 Three of the nineteen factories and 2,900 of the 7,260 staff dedicated to M&S production were overseas. “Profile of William Baird,” 83.

146 Harrison, “Network Effects,” 19.

147 Eric Musgrave, “Great Britons Provide Reasons to be Cheerful,” Drapers, 22 Nov. 2013.