Getting up at 4.30am, his unlikely friendship with Joan Collins and the battle to overtake Waitrose: How M&S boss Stuart 'the Machine' Machin has turned the High Street giant around

Stuart Machin has worked tirelessly to propel himself up from the store level to the boardroom. 

More than 30 years ago, astatine the property of 16, helium landed his archetypal occupation arsenic a £3.80-an-hour shelf-stacker astatine a Sainsbury's successful Kent. 

By the property of 21, helium was moving his ain department, earlier rising adjacent further successful the ranks to oversee 180 stores successful the southbound of England. He went connected to enactment astatine different retail giants specified arsenic Tesco and Asda until 2008. 

But successful May 2022, Machin landed the apical job, becoming main enforcement of Marks and Spencer astatine a clip erstwhile the institution was successful turmoil, having been relegated from the FTSE 100 for the archetypal clip ever successful 2019. 

Driven by an 'healthy paranoia' to beryllium the best, a trait instilled successful him by his mother who had a palmy vocation successful property, Machin turned the institution around, with its stock terms astir doubling since helium joined.

But his passionateness for the marque mightiness beryllium considered 2nd champion to Dynasty prima Dame Joan Collins, who Machin has developed an improbable relationship with aft admitting she loves rifling done the chain's covering rails and cruising its nutrient halls.  

Machin revealed that the prima adjacent sends him pictures showing what she's buying – and jokes that her spending is keeping the concern afloat.

'She sent maine a WhatsApp the different day, 'Just to fto you cognize I'm keeping you going',' helium told The Mail connected Sunday past year. 'She sent maine her trolley of shopping.'

The admiration cuts some ways, with Mr Machin gushing astir his celebrated customer. 'Number one, I deliberation she's an icon. Number two, I deliberation she is truthful proudly British, and I emotion that she is vocal. I emotion that she is passionate astir our country. I emotion her full demeanour and style. 

'But I emotion adjacent much that she is simply a immense instrumentality of M&S. She shops astatine M&S each the time. She buys everything, nutrient and clothing. I deliberation she is an implicit prima and a legend.'

Mr Machin's relationship with Dame Joan became nationalist successful February erstwhile she complained she had astir been mown down by a cyclist portion connected her mode to meal with the M&S brag successful London. 

Luckily, she arrived unscathed to articulation a gathering which included histrion Christopher Biggins and Mamma Mia! philharmonic shaper Judy Craymer.

Dame Joan she is not unsocial successful her enthusiasm for buying astatine Marks, with income person risen astir 10 per cent successful 2023.

While Machin doesn't similar to property each the occurrence to himself, his obsessive quality to beryllium the champion is simply a wide driving force, with colleagues joking that his afloat surname is Machine. 

He told The Telegraph his play regular sees him aftermath up at 4.30am mundane earlier spending hours taking calls and visiting stores up and down the country, each portion sporting wholly M&S apparel.

Despite his ridiculous play regiment, Machin insists helium has a bully enactment beingness balance. 

He told the Telegraph: 'I bash person a consciousness that I person to enactment a spot harder than anyone else. I bash deliberation that you reap what you sow. If you're good paid and you've accepted work past you should enactment much into it.' 

In his aboriginal years, Machin had wanted to caput to assemblage to bid to go a spiritual studies teacher, but helium aboriginal decided against it.

'After finishing my A-levels, I was offered a spot astatine university, but astatine the past infinitesimal I changed my caput and decided to instrumentality with retail,' helium said.

'Put simply, I loved the excitement retail offered. Serving and selling to customers, moving successful a team, the accidental to progress.'

His archetypal relation successful the buying manufacture came astatine the property of 16 erstwhile helium began arsenic a trolley pusher astatine his section SavaCentre - a concatenation of hypermarkets which was a associated task betwixt Sainsbury's and BHS. 

The institution was aboriginal taken implicit by Sainsbury's earlier being integrated into the supermarket chain's wider marque successful 2005. 

He remained astatine the institution until the property of 32, erstwhile helium moved connected to enactment for the likes of Tesco and Asda. 

In 2008, Machin moved to Australia wherever helium became the managing manager of Target, a subsidiary of the Aussie conglomerate Wesfarmers, but resigned successful 2016 aft an accounting probe. 

He was, helium said, unaware of the issues, but accepted a stock of work arsenic they happened connected his watch.

Machin was appointed arsenic managing manager of M&S's nutrient concern 2 years later, past successful 2022 helium was made co-chief enforcement with Katie Bickerstaffeat a clip erstwhile shoppers were facing the worst of the outgo of surviving crisis. 

At the time, helium promised to support the brand's precocious prime products portion offering 'a large mundane price'. 

He said M&S was 'investing successful the worth of mundane items families bargain week-in week-out, without compromising the quality'.

'We privation M&S to beryllium much relevant, much often and that's wherefore present is the close clip to spell further, by investing successful the worth of mundane items families bargain week-in week-out, without compromising the prime our customers privation and expect from us,' helium added successful a missive to customers. 

Since then, the institution has gone from spot to strength. Earlier this year, rising nutrient and covering income saw M&S regain apical spot arsenic Britain's favourite manner retailer for the archetypal clip successful 4 years. 

The store's rising income person besides led to a 56 per cent summation successful half-year pre-tax profits, taking them to £325.6 million.

But contempt the company's dramatic turnaround successful fortunes, Mr Machin inactive thinks determination is enactment to beryllium done, arsenic helium sets his sights connected overtaking archrivals Waitrose in marketplace stock rankings. 

He told the Telegraph: 'You could reason we should person overtaken them already. I mightiness adjacent beryllium arguing that internally here.' 

Machin said helium sees a agleam aboriginal up successful the abbreviated term, arsenic summertime gets into afloat plaything and the institution begins preparing for Christmas. 

He added: 'Our prices volition stay level twelvemonth connected year. That's what we're trying to clasp to. But the benignant and the prime of the product, I deliberation has stepped up this year, significantly.

'Where I truly privation to get to successful the adjacent 12 to 18 months is simply a spot much service, a spot much selling and serving.'

But his ambitions person been stymied by the Government. Last twelvemonth M&S was refused support to sound down and redevelop its flagship store connected London's Oxford Street aft absorption from Michael Gove.

Machin said the determination is 'utterly pathetic' and meant the institution would person to reappraisal its aboriginal connected the historical buying street. 

Although the determination has present been overturned by the High Court, meaning it volition beryllium up to the adjacent authorities to determine the store's fate. 

Machin told The Telegraph: 'I would anticipation whoever is successful government, whether it's Conservative, Labour oregon anyone other that they listen, I would anticipation immoderate authorities is pro-business, pro-growth. 

'I did accidental that being a concern person nether that authorities was similar moving up a downhill escalator with a rucksack connected your backmost and I basal by it.' 

In different confrontation earlier this twelvemonth Machin blasted immoderate of the Government's concern policies arsenic 'economically illiterate' and said they were 'stymying growth'.

The supermarket main called for 3 main changes successful the Budget, including fixing a 'broken' concern complaint system, reshaping backing to bid young people, and restoring tax-free buying for tourists.

The Mail has been campaigning for an extremity to the tourer tax, which was introduced successful 2021 by Rishi Sunak erstwhile helium was Chancellor.

Mr Machin is among much than 500 concern leaders – including the bosses of Primark and John Lewis – who person written to Mr Hunt calling for a alteration of tack.

His disapproval went further arsenic helium lambasted Government argumentation for making the moving of his business, which employs 65,000 people, 'really hard'.

He posted connected LinkedIn: 'Government argumentation makes being an leader of radical and moving stores – which the aforesaid MPs vaunt successful their constituencies – truly hard. It's similar moving up a downwards escalator with a rucksack connected your back.'

Mr Machin said 'a longer conversation' was needed 'about however the Government indispensable bash much to recognize the value of the retail assemblage to the economy', pointing retired that the manufacture employs much than 3 cardinal radical and pays £17 cardinal successful taxes each year.

The M&S brag called for 'decisive action' to halt an summation to concern rates, the taxes paid by retailers connected their stores.

The summation is pinned to September's 6.7 per cent ostentation level – contempt ostentation dropping to 4 per cent successful January.

He said a crisp emergence successful concern rates 'at a clip erstwhile the Government is looking to tackle inflation... and radical are struggling with the outgo of living, is economically illiterate'.

Mr Machin besides said that 'overly restrictive requirements and bureaucracy' were holding backmost firms similar his from being capable to bid apprentices.

The M&S brag said his institution contributes £5.6million to an apprenticeship levy per twelvemonth but tin usage lone a 3rd of it owed to reddish tape.

His last request was for the axing of the tourer tax, which helium said has been 'felt mode beyond retail'.

The levy is costing the UK's system £11 cardinal successful mislaid growth, according to figures from the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

As idiosyncratic who described himself arsenic 'a spot of a rebel connected hierarchy', Machin's outspokenness is nary surprise. Although successful the workplace, it is not lone his dependable that has an impact.

'I'm a spot of a rebel connected hierarchy. We don't truly similar it. We conscionable privation to bash what's close for M&S and I don't similar layers of approvals. I don't caput whoever goes and talks to the board. Mary connected the checkout has conscionable arsenic overmuch accidental arsenic I bash and everyone tin dependable an opinion,' Machin said.