Marks & Spencer has clarified the details of its revised trading terms with its suppliers, in which it is asking them to “contribute” to its success.
A spokeswoman for the retailer said it was asking its food suppliers for a “marketing allowance” of 0.5 per cent of the cost price, which will interestingly take effect from April 1.
“The reason we’re doing that is that our suppliers are seeing significant benefits from the marketing we’re doing. Our adverts are having an impact and we’re seeing increasing sales volumes across all categories in food,” she said. “We’re asking for a contribution towards those benefits.”
However, those suppliers who have done particularly well recently could find themselves paying even more to the retailer.
She said: “For those seeing significant increases there will be an additional charge, although we’re not detailing what those will be. Those not growing or gaining from us, will not be affected by this.”
She denied that this could be seen as a penalty for success saying it was simply a case of “taking a share in the benefits they were seeing”.
The retailer said it does not expect the suppliers to pass the costs back down the chain. “We wouldn’t expect it to impact on the price our suppliers are paying to farmers.”
In a further move any suppliers not using the retailer’s green, recyclable trays to supply produce facing a further cost of 5p a tray.
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