M&S was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds in 1894 (Marks and Spencer, 2008). It went on to become one of the UK\u2019s leading department stores and enduring brands. Through good times and economic turbulence, it remained a traditionally English brand with a focus on quality, value-for-money and practicality. M&S specialises in selling food and drink, apparel and household items, but it has also recently diversified into financial products such as credit cards and insurance. The company was in a difficult financial position in the early 2000s due to problems with its supply chain and poor product offerings. The most difficult was perhaps the year ending March 31, 2001 when net profit was as low as \u00a32.8m on revenue of more than \u00a38bn (M&S, 2008). However, following the appointment of Sir Stuart Rose as the CEO in 2004, the retailer managed to turn its fortunes and has since achieved a remarkable growth in profits due to rigorous cost cutting, extensive store refurbishment and aggressive marketing campaigns. Thus, profit before tax (\u00a3937m) and net profit (\u00a3660m) for the year ending March 31, 2007 were at their highest since 1998 (M&S, 2007). However, due to the credit crunch in the US and difficult trading conditions in the UK over the 2007 Christmas period, the company\u2019s sales growth saw a marked slow-down and its shares plummeted almost overnight (Economist, 2008). M&S is traditionally called a \u2018bell-weather\u2019 of the UK retailing industry, which means that if M&S is struggling, hard times are ahead for the whole sector. To this end, the PESTEL analysis below looks at the macro-environment in which M&S is operating and tries to identify forces having the greatest impact on the company and its performance.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 The so-called credit crunch has already started affecting major Western economies. Warren Buffet, the billionaire founder of Berkshire Hathaway, hailed as the most successful investor ever, described the US economy as already in recession (ABC News, 2008). Invariably, the economic downturn will reach Europe and the UK as well. This will mean that people\u2019s disposable incomes may go down. At the same time, consumer spending will slow down even more in the face of higher inflation and job market uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 This may directly affect M&S, as it is viewed as a more expensive option as opposed to Tesco or Asda. Consumers may switch to cheaper stores and start shopping in M&S as a \u2018treat\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 At the same time, incomes are rising in Eastern Europe, Russia and Dubai where M&S recently opened its stores. Revenues from these markets may partly offset the decrease in consumer spending in the West.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 One can assume that people tend to eat out less in times of economic turmoil. This may, actually, benefit M&S as people stay home and buy its foods, perceived to be of higher quality.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Rising oil prices are adversely affecting all companies including M&S. Both WTI and Brent oil traded for more than $100 a barrel as at the time of writing (FT, 2008).<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Greater work mobility means that people have no time to cook, and often eat on the go. Food stores can benefit from this by offering a variety of ready meals, snacks and sandwiches.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 People now live longer, which means they can spend more during their lifetimes. As M&S\u2019 main customer base is people aged over 40, with a large proportion over 55, this presents a good business opportunity for M&S (The Economist, 2008).<\/p>\n
\u00b7 At the same time, fashion trends are changing with people wishing to look younger and more fashionable, which explains the success of Topshop, Next and Zara. M&S lines have long been criticised for being too conservative. Although new designs have been introduced, the brand has not to date established itself among younger customers (Armstrong, 2008). <\/p>\n
\u2022 Is high. The concentration of buyers is high and they therefore can dictate their rules\/tastes.<\/p>\n
\u2022 There are plenty of alternatives and switching costs are low.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The UK economy is likely to slow down in 2008 forcing retailers to cut prices and focus even more on customer needs (BBC, 2007).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Similarly, as people\u2019s incomes become more uncertain, they will shop around more.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\u2022 M&S has a strong brand embodying quality, value-for-money and practicality, which appeals to many people and promotes customer loyalty.<\/p>\n
\u2022 M&S\u2019 profits have been rising steadily since 2001 and the cash position was very strong as at the year ended 31 March 2007 (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
\u2022 The executive team is very experienced with CEO Stuart Rose widely praised for having reversed M&S fortunes in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
\u2022 M&S markets itself aggressively and involves celebrities like Twiggy, Myleene Klass, Laura Bailey and Take That (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
\u2022 M&S performance slipped over 2007 Christmas period. While all retailers did badly, M&S was particularly exposed. As at the time of writing, the share price was 361p with the 52-week low of 367p and high of 759p, which means that M&S has lost more than 50% of its value during the year (Sunday Times, 2008).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Similarly, the price\/earnings ratio of 9.4 is much lower than that of its competitors. P\/e ratio is the major indicator of investor confidence in a company (Arnold, 2002).<\/p>\n
\u2022 M&S started cutting prices and trying to be all things to all people. This may devalue the brand (The Economist, 2008).<\/p>\n
\u2022 The company was recently criticised for promoting CEO Stuart Rose to chairmanship as well, fuelling accusations of poor corporate governance, lack of transparency and segregation of duties. The move infuriated many large investors (Hawkes and Hosking, 2008).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Developing markets of China and India present huge opportunities for M&S. <\/p>\n
\u2022 Designing and promoting trendier clothes would attract younger customers to the stores.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Online sales are a great opportunity as well, since online margins are higher (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Healthy lifestyles present yet another opportunity to sell healthy foods and sports gear.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Currently, M&S target group are older customers many over the age of 45. This may be risky as today\u2019s 20-30 year olds will still remain trendy after 10-20 years and might be reluctant to shop in M&S, especially taking into account people\u2019s obsession to look younger these days.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jeremy Paxman created a storm of negative publicity when he criticised M&S underwear for lack of support (Nugent and Hawkes, 2008). As every fifth man and every third woman in the UK buy M&S underwear, the publicity may adversely affect sales (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Accusation of poor corporate governance may damage the reputation of the retailer and dent investors\u2019 confidence in it.<\/p>\n
The value chain analysis singles out the set of specific activities practiced by a company that can create competitive advantage over the rival firms in the sector (Dess et al, 2004)<\/p>\n
At the stage of inbound logistics M&S keeps to absolute transparency about the origin of input materials and products. The company starts to build its supply chain choosing reliable suppliers and quality production. During the inventory control replenishment is fulfilled very fast (within half an hour) (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
Here the activities associated with manufacturing process and assembling are implied. M&S practice the so-called smart packaging technologies that enable to preserve the quality and safety of the distributed food products. Besides, smart packaging provides convenience for customers and strong brand associations (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
Multi-User Warehouse System (MUWS) was chosen to be the mainframe-bases system of warehouse management in Marks and Spencer. The information about availability and delivery of goods is communicated to stores and warehouses automatically. The volume of the production delivered to retail stores is previously forecasted (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
M&S tends to popularise its brands putting the stress on the exclusiveness of goods and especially underlining the idea of \u201cBritishness\u201d. The company applies various advertising techniques predominantly relying on traditional tools such as outdoor, print, TV and the Internet. A new marketing campaign \u201cYour M&S\u201d has been launched recently aiming at promoting the core brand. By means of this project, the corporation tends to overcome the stereotype of a middle-class and boring typical retailer of food supplies and clothing. With the beginning of the financial crisis, M&S started to reduce prices (Armstrong, 2008; M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
M&S has developed rather extended customer service programme that aims to guarantee the maximum customer satisfaction. However, the call centre staff is said to lack professional training and support from their employers. The company is ready to handle complaints for the shortest period of time (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
M&S tends to establish and preserve the most reasonable ratio between the premium quality and moderate prices.<\/p>\n
Much attention is given in the company to the automatisation on various stages. Thus, the information about delivery and in-stock resources is distributed via automatic means. Besides, M&S plans to intensify on-line shopping, because it does not require considerable costs. The company is considered to be one of the leaders of Customer Relationship Management (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
Human resource management can be considered strong in M&S. Internal organisation, training of employees and high level of motivation help to create competitive advantage over the rival firms. The company is quite selective about applicants for employement. They are to fully satisfy the requirements and pass the interview successfully (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
The firm\u2019s organisational structure is built in the way to generate effective competitive strategies. Such departments as Management Information System (MIS), accounting division and others are responsible for this. The infrastructure includes all facilities of the company such as retail stores, warehouses and offices. These are essential for conducting healthy business operations (M&S, 2007).<\/p>\n
Although M&S managed to overcome its financial difficulties in the early 2000s, it now faces a slowdown. This is partly because of the US credit crunch spreading to Europe and the UK. As consumer spending decreases, customers get more cautious and start to shop around more. M&S has many strengths to help it regain its position, however it should manage its weaknesses and be particularly careful with regard to any bad publicity. It should also avoid upsetting investors and consider restructuring its executive team to enhance its responsible image. Developing markets and online sales present great opportunities and M&S should not hesitate to embrace them.<\/p>\n
2. Armstrong, L (2008). Is M&S and its Autograph line fashionable? 12 March 2008. www.timesonline.co.uk (Accessed 19\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
3. Arnold, G. (2002). Corporate financial management. 2d. ed. Essex: Prentice Hall.<\/p>\n
4. BBC (2007). Darling signals economic slowdown. 9 October 2007. www.news.bbc.co.uk (Accessed 24\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
5. BBC (2008). M&S to charge 5p for carrier bags. 28 February 2008. www.news.bbc.co.uk (Accessed 20\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
6. Davey, J and Laurance, B (2008). M&S under fire: how the City turned against Rose. The Sunday Times. 16 March 2008, p.12-13.<\/p>\n
7. Dess, G.D., Lumpkin, G.T. and Taylor, M.L. (2004). Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages. McGraw Hill Professional, p. 75.<\/p>\n
8. Doyle, P. (2002). Marketing Management and Strategy 3d ed., Pearson Education.<\/p>\n
9. Financial Times (2008). Market data. Information on oil prices. 24 March 2008. www.ft.com (Accessed 24\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
10. HM Treasury (2008). Budget 2008. Stability and opportunity: building a strong, sustainable future. 12 March 2008. www.hm-treasury.gov.uk (Accessed 19\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
11. Legal&Medical (2008). Man loses M&S grape case. 14 March 2008. www.legal-medical.co.uk (Accessed 20\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
12. M&S (2007). M&S Annual report 2007. www.marksandspencer.com (Accessed 1803\/08).<\/p>\n
13. Nugent, H and Hawkes, S (2008). George follows Jeremy Paxman as M&S faces another brief challenge. 20 March 2008. www.timesonline.co.uk (Accessed 18\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
14. Pidd, H (2007). M&S gets the lowest green rating in packaging survey. The Guardian. 23 October 2007. www.guardian.co.uk (Accessed 24\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
15. Porter, M. (1985) Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance. New York: Free Press.<\/p>\n
16. The Economist (2007). The world in figures: industries. The world in 2008. p124, 126.<\/p>\n
17. The Economist (2008). A Rose by any other name. A retailing star ticks off investors at an awkward time. 13 March 2008, p58-60.<\/p>\n
18. The Sunday Times (2008). Top 200 companies indices. 16 March 2008, p.19.<\/p>\n
19. Marks and Spencer (2008). \u201cOur History\u201d. http:\/\/www.marksandspencer.com (Accessed 18\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
20. Wilkes, D (2007). Asda launches \u00a335 tuxedo in attempt to sew-up formal attire market. The Daily Mail. 14 November 2007. www.dailymail.co.uk (Accessed 24\/03\/08).<\/p>\n
21. WTO (2008). China \u2013 member information. www.wto.org (Accessed 19\/03\/08).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
M&S was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds in 1894 (Marks and Spencer, 2008). It went on to become one of the UK\u2019s leading department stores and enduring brands. Through good times and economic turbulence, it remained a traditionally English brand with a focus on quality, value-for-money and practicality. M&S specialises in selling food and drink, apparel and household items, but it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[168],"tags":[1388],"class_list":["post-1346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marketing","tag-marks-spencer-success-and-change"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glowriters.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}