Simon Marks created the St Michael brand in 1928, naming it after his father Michael Marks.
The St Michael label was a quality mark, showing that the item it was attached to was made exclusively for M&S, and not sold by any other companies. This meant that at first there were only a few St Michael products, but the range soon grew to include clothing, toys and food.
The style of the logo changed to a handwritten 'St Michael' in the 1950s. This was to create a more feminine and friendly brand that would appeal to M&S customers.
Other brand names used by M&S included Marspen for household goods and toys, and Marspun for clothing.