LUCA SOLCA, SANFORD BERNSTEIN

"It's an opportunity for M&S to change and fine tune the current strategy and so I was a bit concerned that an internal appointment would translate very much to more of the same."

"A person like that (Bolland) is certainly going to focus on costs and on the positioning of the business in the UK."

"It's certainly a better appointment than an internal promotion ... (but) he doesn't have any non-food retail experience and to be honest his total retail experience is just three years."

ANNE CRITCHLOW, SG SECURITIES

"He has a very good reputation. He's someone who fitted in well when he started with Morrisons and worked well with Sir Ken (Morrison), and this is a similar situation (with Stuart Rose staying on as chairman of M&S)."

"I don't think M&S is in a mess at the moment. In terms of product, I think they've done a good job in general merchandise, and in food they've made real improvements in the past year."

She added the group is working on improvements in the supply chain and IT systems, under a plan led by finance director Ian Dyson. "So we're rather hoping he stays ... although the programme is quite well entrenched now."

JOHN STEVENSON, KBC PEEL HUNT

"On the face of it, a very good appointment."

"He certainly had an impact on Morrisons through a transition period that was quite tough and he managed that well."

"You could argue Marc hasn't got the public persona of, say, a Justin King because he's not been in the press as much. But the fact is he's been very successful at Morrisons."

KATE CALVERT, SHORE CAPITAL

"I would view it as a positive appointment."

"The share price reaction is understandable in terms of Marks being up and Morrisons being down."

"Marc has got a very good reputation in terms of brand and marketing ... but Marks is a much bigger job in terms of repositioning its business than what Morrisons was."

SAM HART -- CHARLES STANLEY

"Extremely surprised. We'd expected Ian Dyson, the finance director, to be appointed chief executive."

It's a big shock. Bolland has an extremely good track record at Morrison. Given that it's probably the biggest job in UK general retail I dare say he was unable to turn it down. It's definitely a good appointment in our view but certainly a surprise."

"Bolland was probably only two-thirds of the way through the turnaround and restructuring programme at Morrison's. That definitely leaves a big void for someone to fill."

"Having said that, he's laid the foundations for recovery at Morrison. Most of the restructuring has been done and the fruits of that are already being seen. It shouldn't be too major a blow but it's obviously not a positive development from their point of view."

(Reporting by Mark Potter and Matt Scuffham)