Marks & Spencer Faces Major Cyber Attack Impact

London: British retailer Marks & Spencer announced on Wednesday that a “very sophisticated cyber” attack is expected to result in a loss of about £300 million ($403 million) in operating profit, with disruptions starting in July.

This attack, which targeted one of the UK’s largest retailers, disrupted operations for a company with 64,000 employees and 565 stores. It notably affected the online clothing sector, caused food shelves to be bare, and led to a decline of over £1 billion in the company’s stock market valuation.

Before the attack, M&S was performing well. However, the retailer mentioned that online issues would persist from June into July as they work on rebooting systems and gradually ramping up operations.

The impact on the food sector has been particularly challenging, forcing a return to manual processes which has led to less availability and increased waste and logistics costs.

While food supply chains have started to recover, the fashion, home, and beauty segments are continuing to experience declines in online sales and profits due to the halt in online shopping.

The company described its situation as “highly elastic.”

CEO Stuart Machine emphasized that, throughout its 140-year history, the retailer has faced various challenges. He remarked, “This incident is a road-related conflict, and we plan to emerge from it in a stronger position while restructuring M&S for our customers, colleagues, and shareholders.”

He also expressed gratitude for the continued support and patience of their customers.

M&S revealed the cyber attack on April 22nd, and just three days later, they halted clothing and home orders through their website and app.

Recently, the company disclosed that some personal customer information had also been compromised during the breach.

Globally, retailers are rushing to enhance their security measures as hackers have also targeted UK co-ops and Harrods, with recent reports indicating cyber threats to US companies as well.