Marks & Spencer Expects Online Disruptions to Continue Through July

Marks & Spencer, a British multinational retailer, is facing ongoing disruptions to its online shopping services following a cyber attack in April. The company has announced that its online ordering systems will remain paused until July, citing the need to re-start and ramp up operations safely. This decision is expected to take a £300m hit to profits, with Chief Executive Stuart Machin noting that online sales and trading profit have been heavily impacted by the pause. However, Machin remains confident in the company's recovery, citing strong performance in the past year and future opportunities.

Key Takeaways:

• Marks & Spencer's online ordering systems will remain paused until July due to the cyber attack in April.
• The company expects to take an estimated £300m hit to profits as a result of the disruptions.
• Online sales and trading profit have been heavily impacted by the pause, with Fashion, Home & Beauty being particularly affected.
• Food sales have been impacted by reduced availability, although this is already improving.
• The company has incurred additional waste and logistics costs due to manual processes, impacting profit in the first quarter.
• Marks & Spencer has been linked to a network of 'threat actors' commonly known as Scattered Spider.
• The customer personal information potentially accessed by hackers includes names, email addresses, postal addresses, and dates of birth, but payment details, card information, and account passwords were not included.
• Customers will be prompted to reset their password the next time they visit or log on to their M&S account for "extra peace of mind".
• The company has thanked customers for their support and patience during this time.

Statistics:

• The cyber attack on Marks & Spencer occurred in April 2023.
• The company expects to take an estimated £300m hit to profits due to the disruptions.
• Online sales and trading profit have been heavily impacted, with Fashion, Home & Beauty being particularly affected.
• The company has already incurred additional waste and logistics costs of £X (amount not specified in the article) due to manual processes.
• Marks & Spencer has announced plans for a further nine food stores and two extensions in 2025/26.
• The company's profits for the year up to March 2025 have been heavily impacted by the cyber attack.

Sources:

• Marks & Spencer statement, 2023 (exact date not specified)
• Marks & Spencer announcement of May 13, 2023