Marks & Spencer bows to pressure group: cancels surcharge on DD+ bras
Lingerie-Trends.com — Britain’s largest lingerie seller, Marks & Spencer, has dropped its controversial £2 surcharge for bras larger than a DD cup.
The company bowed to pressure from a growing group of women who claimed the extra £1.50-2.00 charge amounted to a ‘boob tax.’
A ‘Busts 4 Justice‘ campaign via Facebook garnered the support of thousand of bigger-breasted ladies, a number of whom bought shares in M&S so they could, as some news outlets put it, ’storm’ the company’s Annual General Meeting.
Busts 4 Justice founder Beckie Williams, who is a size 34E, started her campaign after she learned that the British retailer — popular for its inexpensive, quality underwear and lingerie — planned the surcharge for larger bras.
Anywhere from 8,000 and 11,000 (depending on which news outlet you trust) women joined her campaign.
While a spokesman for the store earlier this week claimed its customers were happy to pay a small premium for the specialist work to ensure suitable level of support, innovation and technology that goes into bigger bras, Williams felt deeply insulted. She told The Daily Mail
There aren’t enough negative adjectives to describe how much I hated having big boobs. So the suggestion that I’d have to pay over the odds for a bigger bra is not only appalling; it’s deeply insulting.
Though I started my teenage years as flat as a pancake, I gradually developed a bust that bounced between a 32DD and a 32E.
Little did I know that was just for starters. By the time I was breastfeeding my children, I reached a horrific 34I – I for Incredible.
Now those of you lacking in sympathy, or with no bust to speak of, might think we large-busted ladies are making a fuss about nothing, but there’s no end to the discrimination you face as a woman with hefty breasts.
In order to be able to attend the company’s Annual General Meeting in July, Williams bought one £3.40 Marks & Spencer share. Many others followed her example. Combined with increasing media exposure this lead the company to rethink its decision.
“We’ve heard what our customers are telling us that they are unhappy with the pricing on our DD-plus bras and that basically we’ve boobed.
“So from Saturday May 9 no matter what size you buy, the price is going to be the same.
“We’re not going to cut the quality though – they’ll still be made to the same high standards so you get the best support on the high street.”
The chain is also offering 25% off the price of any bra in any size. The promotion will last until May 25.
Analysts point out that M&S’s decision may also have been inspired by announcements from other retailes riding the publicity tail. Asda, for instance, proclaimed their bras will be one price fits all.
After being told of the company’s about-turn, Beckie Williams commented:
‘This is absolutely fantastic news,’ she said. ‘I just want to thank all the women who have stood up for what they believe in.
‘It just goes to show what you can achieve as a group of ordinary women who decided this cause was worth fighting for.’
The 26-year- old writer from Brighton said women contacting the campaign had felt frustrated and angry at the policy of Britain’s biggest seller of lingerie.
‘We feared M&S would carry on the fight,’ she added. ‘I am just glad they’ve done the right thing.
‘In a time when there is so much miserable news around it is really wonderful when a big company can make a positive decision like this. It will give women with big breasts an enormous boost.’
The paper does say that Marks & Spencer found some support, both from smaller women who do not wish to subsidize larger bras, and from industry figures. For instance, Michelle Mone, the founder of the successful Ultimo designer lingerie range, defended the need for a surcharge because of the need for extra materials, both in terms of fabric and supports.
‘Just as a bigger, more technologically advanced car costs more, so a larger bra will cost more,’ she said.
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