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BusinessCar Office Blog: 6 June 2007
Date: 06 June 2007
Now, I have a contact working at M&S and when The Insider covered the story in their Please Mind the Publicity Gap column, I thought I'd bypass M&S's PR machinery and ask my own insider to get a direct quote from the man himself...
6 June 2007: Stuart Rose speaks to BusinessCar, nearly
Good to see Stuart Rose, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, will finally be taking delivery of an environmentally friendly BMW Hydrogen 7 after the recent bad publicity he received for owning two Bentleys - a Silver Spur and Continental GT.
Rose had publicly declared his intention to make M&S carbon neutral by 2012, but the pronouncement rebounded on him when it was revealed he was not personally following his new company ethos.
Now, I have a contact working at M&S and when The Insider covered the story in their Please Mind the Publicity Gap column, I thought I'd bypass M&S's PR machinery and ask my own insider to get a direct quote from the man himself.
To be honest, I thought I'd provoke an abrasive response - either from my contact or Rose - especially as the article contained inflammatory paragraphs such as: "Once you've got to the top, you're expected to lead by example and become the embodiment of your company ethos, which, I'm sorry Stuart, means avoiding the nickname 'Two Bentleys'."
Unfortunately, I was a disappointed. This was the reply:
"Thanks for your email and hope that you are well. Stuart, as I am sure you can understand, is a very busy man but always interested in reading what has been written about him. He has read your article, smiled and officially has 'no comment' to make."
A smooth (and enigmatic) response - though probably a wise move. I mean, why risk further igniting a highly flammable hydrogen tale that's already burned rapidly?
Tony Rock - BusinessCar production editor
