Sir Stuart Rose

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2009

⏱️ 37 minutes

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Summary

Kirsty Young's castaway is Sir Stuart Rose. As the boss of Marks and Spencer, he has held a national institution - and the nation's knickers - in his hands. After seeing off a hostile takeover bid and revamping its tired image, he is regarded by many as the store's saviour. Now, after five years in one of the top jobs on the high street, his successor has been announced and, in this timely interview, Sir Stuart looks to the future and considers where life might take him next.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Casta Diva by Bellini Book: The collected cricketers' almanac by Wisden Luxury: A power shower with white fluffy towels and constant hot water.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Nicola Cochlin. Young people have been making history for years, but we don't often hear about them. My brand new series on BBC Sounds sets out to put this right. In history's youngest heroes, I'll be revealing the fascinating stories of 12 young people who've played a major role in history and who've helped shape our world. Like Audrey Hepburn, Nelson Mandela, Louis Braille and Lady Jane Grey, history's youngest
0:25.4	heroes with me, Nicola Cochlin. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:30.7	Hello, I'm Krista Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive.
0:35.7	For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.
0:38.8	The program was originally broadcast in 2009.
1:01.8	Music My castaway this week is Sir Stuart Rose.
1:06.8	For the past five years, he's been the boss of Marks and Spencer, holding a very British institution and indeed the nation's knickers in his hands.
1:10.7	Brought in to boost sales and fight off a takeover bid, he's seen by many as the store's
1:15.6	saviour, and it's not the only High Street giant he's lent a hand to. Argos, Debenhams,
1:20.4	Dorothy Perkins and Evans are among the others that he's dug out of a hole.
1:24.9	He concedes there have been times when his will to keep the
1:27.9	tills ringing has meant his family life has come second. But now that the company's next
1:32.9	chief executive has been announced, he can look to the future, a time when he'll finally
1:37.3	be able to step off the shop floor. I'd like to go tomorrow, he says, but I can't. I've got to get
1:43.5	the company through the recession and then go gracefully. You'd like to go tomorrow, he says, but I can't. I've got to get the company through the recession and then go gracefully.
1:47.4	You'd like to go tomorrow? I'm not sure I believe that, Stuart Rose.
1:51.1	Well, not exactly, but obviously I said that I would get the company through the recession, having spent the previous two or three years repairing some of the infrastructure.
1:59.0	And the next thing we have to do is to find a chief executive.
2:01.0	And I'm delighted that we have this week announced the new chief executive, Mark Bolland
2:04.7	from Morrisons, who I think is the man to take the business forward for the next decade.
2:08.6	That's a nice PR bit over.
2:10.0	But I want to ask about you.
	...

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