Insight

Analysis: Marks & Spencer’s response to cyber-attack

01st May 2025

Marks & Spencer has been gripped by a cyber-attack for over a week now, and as news emerges that other retailers have and still could face similar attacks the issue of these incidents, which usually evade public attention, has come to the forefront of the news agenda.

As the attack continues to affect M&S’s operations, the business has been communicating frequently with stakeholders to preserve trust and value. The communications issued through owned channels, directly as well as through the media, have been consistent and measured. The true reflection of this is the market reaction, and although the business makes roughly a third of its revenue from online sales, the share price has dropped from a year to date high of 411p on the 17th April, to 380p today, but it remains well above a low of 319p in January.

To an outsider this points to a few things:

• The credibility that the team has built with stakeholders in advance of this situation carries a lot of weight, they are trusted and the message conveyed has been taken on board. This is also conveyed through the tone of communications shared, Marks & Spencer has gained the reputation to be able to adopt an open and friendly tone.
• The company has been coordinated in reassuring employees, customers and investors that they are taking action and have the matter in hand. There is an excellent grasp of communication channels and how they should be deployed, pointing to a very well prepared and coordinated team, there are no silos between different functions in the response.
• For the teams to have worked so seamlessly together it points to being experienced and in tune with each other, having these relationships bedded in has made working together under pressure much easier.

M&S is not out the woods yet, and they will be keen to have the matter resolved and the full business back to full operational capacity. Obviously, the longer this lasts the more the management team and share price will come under pressure, but as it stands M&S has demonstrated the benefits of being prepared, having put in the work to test procedures, and management and communications teams which work closely together alongside advisors.