Abstract Marks and Spencer (M&S) p.l.c. is one of the largest retailers in the United Kingdom with a selling space of 12.5 million square feet, was established in 1884 as ‘Penny bazaar’. M&S sells clothing, food, footwear, gifts and home furnishings in its 760 stores around the world. The company’s wholly own and franchise stores operates in Europe, Hong Kong, Far East, Australia, Middle East, the Bahamas and Bermuda making a total of 34 countries. This report critically evaluates the changes at M&S from the mid 1980s to current day. Initially it assesses and outlines the macro and micro environmental factors. Under macro environment the substantial competitive growth is explained using internet technology and globalisation. Under …show more content…
Figure 1: GDP growth of the UK since 2002 Source: National Statistics (2007) According to Turban and King (2003), internet technology renders retailers an additional channel for branding, transactions and customer relationship management, the adaptation of which may drive down retailers’ transaction costs, and ensuring faster and higher quality of customer interactions, resulting in enlarging the existing markets and consumer base. M&S realizes this and have tried to sell clothing via high street stores as well as via internet though they have experienced cost cutting, rationalisation and management changes in order to revive their business in recent years. Internet technology might enable sustainable competitive advantage, but problems remain on how to physically organize their online retail operations. As argued by Eaton (2001), globalization is an enterprise management feature, which increases liberalization of international trade and international competition. Needless to say, nowadays most of senior managers tend to plan their companies to go worldwide. In the early 1970s, M&S expanded its international operation to purchase a 50 per cent shareholding of three Canadian companies for the first step. In November 1997 the company announced a 2,100 million GBP plan for global expansion which would be across Europe, the Far East and the Middle East (Bevan, 2002). 2.2. Micro Environment This part adopts Porter’s (1985) five-force
M&S are one of the UK's leading retailers of clothes, food, home products and financial services. Some 10 million people shop with us each week in over 375
Technology is very important in the retail market. In order to grow your business, make their business more secure and complete with the competitors, Marks and Spencer has to move along with the new technology. To do this they must manage their brands carefully. Major brand marketers often spend huge amounts on
Marks and Spencer Group (M&S) is the premier retailer in clothing, foods and home ware within the United Kingdom. The company’s commitment to quality, value, service, innovation and trust is a key contributor to their success as a high street retailer in the UK. Their current core UK operations centre around three divisions, food, general merchandise (including clothing and home ware), and the financial services industry. Therefore Tesco plc is the prime UK retailer to analyse and compare growth, financial performance and the financial status of M&S Plc in line with other competitors within the same industry.
Part A of this report examines the resources and capabilities of Marks & Spencer (M&S) up to the mid 1990's and how they lead to creating a superior competitive advantage (CA) over all competitors.
The development of the Internet and more specifically the business website has seen brand recognition by consumers escalate to never before seen heights. Because of this brand recognition, it has become important for businesses to design their websites to reflect their overall marketing strategies. This is especially important in the retail world. All retail businesses have a similar overall marketing strategy of generating sales and retaining the customer for future sales. Most of the retail giants still greatly rely on the success of their brick and mortar stores to turn a profit. However, internet sales for these brick and mortar stores have increasingly risen over the last few years to compete with the retail stores like Amazon that are strictly internet based businesses. Brick and mortar retail stores, such as Walmart, Target, Kmart, and Nordstrom, have each designed their websites to reflect the overall retail marketing strategy as well as the individual marketing strategies that have made their brick and mortar businesses successful.
Marks and Spencer (M & S) was started by Michael Marks in Leeds in 1984 and later joint by a partner Tom Spencer. It is one of the largest retailer’s stores of U.K that sells clothes, home furnishings, food, gifts etc. and was formerly known as St. Michael. It has its markets in Europe, Far East,
As I have mentioned before, this research paper is being taken exclusively with the aim to evaluate the Tesco’s performance in both financial and business terms over a three years period. Since the financials will be compared with its three year
Management restructure that occurred in this year has lead M&S shares rise significantly. “M&S shares closed at 1.5% bigger at 424.2 pences”
To provide quality product, extensive menu of delicious foods, ensure customer awareness and loyalty and also have good publicity.
Marks and Spencer (M&S) is a major British multinational retailer, headquartered at City of Westminster, London. It was founded in 1884 and now grown into a multinational retailer with their
Marks & Spencer, also known as M&S, was established in 1884 as a local store in the UK. “As it grew, staying close to the community was important to its founders and by the 1930s the name Marks & Spencer was synonymous with trust, quality, and significantly as an employer who looked after its employees, going beyond the minimum standards for wages, benefits and care” (Richardson, 2015). For years, Marks & Spencer were known for taking care of their employees, customers, and community but as times changed in the world, corporate America changed along with it. “There comes a time when other competitors copy and look for advantage, and this was the case for M&S as other UK retailers assumed the leadership of the sector it once regarded as its own natural territory” (Richardson, 2015). It became increasingly important for M&S to do
Marks and Spencer is one of Britain's most well-known, beloved stores. Within its walls, you can get everything from clothes to quintessentially British food. It is a one-stop shop for many Britons who adore it. Because of its popularity and singular British-ness, the company thought to expand into Western Europe. After all, there were many communities of British expatriates all over the continent who would probably appreciate being able to get a little taste of home in their new locations. You can't buy meat pies and English tea just anywhere, after all.
The early 1990 's marked the beginning of a sea change in customer 's expectations with regard to good quality, healthy food. M&S image as a respectable retailer with its focus on providing a wide range of premium foods meant that the M&S brand, where food was concerned, became regarded as something of a luxury.
-Recently M & S raise their profits by £642 million in four years. (Armstrong, telegraph. 2015).
The quality of the internet on the purchase process has been found to affect customers’ purchase decisions, satisfaction, and loyalty in online retailing (Zeithaml et al., 2002; Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2009). Hence, to be competitive in the market place, internet is the paramount and as the new ways for the customer to interact directly with a firm. Besides that, the internet is responsive and convenient for customers in the online purchase process. Through internet, the firms being able respond to the unique needs and wants of individual customers by providing the “right content in the right format to the right person at the right time.” Retailers can facilitate a convenient and responsive online purchase process, serve their customers better, improve customer satisfaction and increase retention.