Rowe will need more than honesty about M&S's underperformance

Cutting prices on clothes is a good start for Marks & Spencer's new chief executive but lots of hard work lies ahead

There is a secret to being the new broom in a company that has been struggling: dissociate yourself from past failures as fast as you can.

In that respect, Steve Rowe has got off to the best possible start as the chief executive of Marks & Spencer. His comment that the performance of the key clothing division had been "unsatisfactory" is the sort of breezy honesty that works well when it is your first day in the job. Particularly when it has the merit of being true.