M&S looks to transform energy market through Octopus deal
Marks & Spencer has announced a new partnership with Octopus in which it will supply energy to customers under its existing M&S Energy brand.
With the new partnership due to launch this September, M&S said the collaboration will aim to offer a competitive customer proposition to challenge the ‘Big 6’ and disrupt the traditional energy market with a transparent pricing model.
The partnership will replace the contract previously held by SSE.
Jonathan Hazeldine, head of M&S Energy, said: “As we continue to transform M&S we have chosen Octopus as a new strategic partner for M&S Energy. Octopus’ values of responsible and transparent pricing and digital-first customer service mirror our ambitions for the business.
“Together, we can challenge the traditional energy market and bring green energy to millions of households at a competitive and fair price. We believe they are the best partner to help transform and grow M&S Energy into a digital, progressive and commercially competitive arm of M&S.”
M&S said the offering will use Octopus’s innovative cloud-based billing and customer platform with the aim of creating a seamless experience for customers and giving them direct control over their account.
In a statement, the retailer highlighted Octopus’s 5* TrustPilot ranking and its status as uSwitch’s top-ranking energy supplier in 2018.
Through the partnership, M&S Energy will offer 100% green energy to customers, in line with M&S’s Plan A environmental and sustainability plan.
Greg Jackson, chief executive of Octopus Energy, said: “M&S’s choice of Octopus for this vital service is a great vote of confidence in our vision for energy. Fair pricing without annual switching, renewable electricity and incredible customer service. M&S will be using the digital technology we’ve built, enabling dramatically better customer experience online, and helping drive the M&S digitisation strategy.”
Ten years on from the creation of M&S Energy, the offering complements M&S’s growing home and M&S Bank businesses, which saw the launch of M&S’s first ever mortgage range this year.
