M&S Analysis

1815 Words8 Pages
Marks & Spencer is one of the UK’s leading retailers. They sell high quality, great value clothing and home products as well as outstanding quality good. The company operates in about 41 countries worldwide with UK as its primary market. The original strategy employed by M&S was to build its brand. The company’s resources included the St Michael logo, the policy of using mainly British suppliers, and good customer relations. Quality control was achieved by working closely with suppliers, and the M&S management system focused on a top-down approach that became standard in all stores. However later on the company realized that top-down management approach caused M&S to become vulnerable to market changes so new resources were created, including a department with a remit to seek out new business opportunities; more autonomy for store managers; different procedures for buying. M&S began to look overseas for suppliers. The close working relationship between suppliers, employees, management and loyal customers was enhanced. For example new customers were attracted by younger models – so M&S could widen the appeal of its clothing range. Efficient strategy has lead M&S to a strong market position for example in the clothing segment. According to Verdict, M&S' main user share was 17.4% in 2010. M&S' 0.5% rise in 2010 boosted it further against the competitors, placing the company 9.5 and 9.9 percentage points ahead of Next (7.9%) and Primark (7.5%), respectively. Also M&S is well ahead of department store competitors, with an 11.2 percentage point lead on its nearest competitor John Lewis. The clothing and fashion segment is estimated to have led to leadership. Before discuss further strategies, it is important to analysis the recent general economy situation in the UK. As the graph above indicated, the GDP in the UK suffered a big drop between 2008 and 2010.

More about M&S Analysis

Open Document