M&S under tax spotlight for using Irish arm in billing Despite stalling profits and a disappointing performance in its clothing division, the retailer's chairman maintains the company is undergoing a "radical transformation." Robert Swannell, M&S chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph that he is "100pc behind" Marc Bolland, the chief executive, and his strategy, which involves a modernisation of the retailer's infrastructure and a new management team. Mr Swannell said the changes represent "one of the most radical transformations in British retail or indeed European retail, any European business of scale." He added: "The board have spent the last two-and-a-half years talking about this plan. If that means you keep a straight path when there is some temptation to zig-zag, then so be it. That is what we are going to do. In the end, what we have got to do, as a board, is chart a course that is every bit as exacting as our shareholders could be, as though it were our own business and our own money. That is what we are determined to do. To build a business that we think will be a more valuable business in the long-term. A sustained and sustainable business. A business that does not require every period of time a great huge dollop of capital. Mr Swannell said Mr Bolland was doing a "fantastic job." Jean Roche, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said the results were "unlikely to encourage" upgrades to profits forecasts for the next year but that the City "should be careful not to underestimate the positive effect that a well-received womenswear collection could have on the company's financial performance."