...Marks & Spencer PLC Plan A.Introduction.The total value of UK retail sales were £333 billion in 2014 and 9% of all VAT-registered businesses in the UK retailers, with the total number currently at 192,595. A third of consumer spending goes through these shops and the retail sector generates 5% of the gross domestic product of the UK. (retaileconomics.co.uk 2015). Marks & Spencer PLC has been part of the British high street for over 130 years, starting out as a small penny stall in a market in the City of Leeds, to the iconic £10.3 billion retail brand it is today, employing 83,069 people worldwide. The company has always had a strong ethos of fair trade, treating its staff well, building strong long-term relationships with its suppliers and developing new and initiative relations with its customers from the company outset. (D. Grayson, 2011). Marks & Spencer was the first high street retailer to allow customers to enter their shops without paying for the privilege, prior to this, the proviso was that a customer entering a shop had to buy an item, something that is taken for granted today but in 1894 was unheard of. (marksandspencer.com 2015.) In 1997 the company became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion, although subsequently it went into a sudden slump, which took the company, its shareholders, who included hundreds of thousands of small investors, and nearly all retail analysts and business journalists, by surprise. The reasons...
Words: 3181 - Pages: 13
...1. Introduction Marks and Spencer is a company which has the United Kingdom as its primary market. It has many sectors to its business from clothing to banking to food. This report will primarily focus on two sectors, food and clothing but will also incorporate the overall progress of the company over the past ten years. This report aims to: * Study the performance and profitability and the differing contribution from Marks and Spencer’s two major sectors, food and clothes particularly analyzing the Financials using the ratios of Return on Equity and Return on Sales. Comparisons with competing firms in these sectors will also be made. * Demonstrate that Porters generic strategy may help explain the gulf in both performance and profitability between Marks and Spencer’s Food and Clothes sectors. * Determine that the resource based view may aid Marks and Spencer in understanding the market and its competition better, and thus place the company in a stronger position. 2 Financial analysis 2.1 Return on Sales Source: Thomson one Source: Thomson one Analyzing the financials of a company is a key part of understanding the performance and profitability of a company. As indicated in the introduction this report will firstly look at the Return on Sales of Marks and Spencer. The chart below shows the Change in the return on Sales for Marks and Spencer from 2004-2013. Return on Sales demonstrates the percentage of profit being made on each unit of sales. The Return...
Words: 3072 - Pages: 13
...Marks and Spencer (M&S) is one of the many well-known British retailers; boasting over 700 stores in UK only and a work force of over 78,000 people world-wide.1 Marks and Spencer manages four (4) major sections, clothing, food, home and financial services. In clothing, marks and Spencer offer women’s wear, lingerie, menswear, children’s wear and footwear. For food, they offer fresh foods, ready meals, food for special occasions and wine. In the home section, they vend designer furniture, for example Autograph. With over 21 million people visiting the stores each week, M&S has become the number one provider of women wear and lingerie in the UK, and are rapidly growing their market share in men wear, kids wear and home.2 The clothing and home ware sales account for 49% of its business whilst 51% is in food i.e. fresh produce, groceries, partly-prepared meals and ready meals.3 In 2007; M&S unveiled the Plan A- a £200m project to become carbon neutral by 2012 as part of a contribution to limit climate change. “Through Plan A we are working with our customers and our suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable new materials, trade ethically and help our customers to lead healthier lifestyles”4 Business Strengths and Weaknesses: M&S have been known for their brand and its awareness worldwide, which has resulted to be one of their strongest assets 5. M&S is the leading clothes retailer in UK and has managed to offer more choices and excellent...
Words: 1850 - Pages: 8
...Ethics and Sustainable development Mark&Spencer Plan A analysis Bao Quoc Nguyen Ethics and Sustainable Development Mark and Spencer Plan A with Oxfam Table of Contents MARK & SPENCER PLC ................................................................................................................... 3 COMPANY OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................ 3 BUSINESS DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................................... 3 HISTORY .............................................................................................................................................................. 4 SWOT ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................ 4 PESTLE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................... 5 OUTLINE SOME PROBLEM FACING RETAILERS IN UK .........................................
Words: 2467 - Pages: 10
...Part 1 1. Introduction I chose topic 8 because analysis and interpretation of business and financial performance has interested me and I want to learn more about and it is the topic I feel most comfortable with having completed my ACCA studies. Writing reports and analysing business performance was covered in papers F7 and P3 and through this report I will have the opportunity to enforce practically the knowledge acquired. Moreover undertaking this research project will improve my performance at work and enhance my professional and communication skills. I work in accountancy practice and this project will be invaluable experience. I decide to write a research project on Marks & Spencer plc. and the reason being is that I had carried out an investigation on this company before and I have preliminary knowledge on its activities and the sector in which operates. Marks & Spencer is well known and reputable retailer which I personally favour as a customer. Marks and Spencer Group plc. is an international multi-channel retailer with headquarters in London, in the City of Westminster .It carries out the retailing of apparel, home products and food items. It was started as a Penny Bazar 1884 in Leeds selling only British made goods (Enc. Britannica,2004) As of 30 March 2013 the Company’s product were sold through 766 UK stores and 418 stores internationally (www.marksandspencer.com, 2013) 1.1.2 The reason for choosing the John Lewis Plc. as the comparator company John...
Words: 2277 - Pages: 10
...Shareprice Report Done by: Adam Marsden 32846436 Badreya Mahmood 32971885 Christian McKinlay 32851855 Demetris Messios Shivani Modasia Content: | Page | Executive Summary | 3 | Introduction | 4 | Company Analysis | 5-7 | Event Analysis | 8-10 | Competitors Analysis | 11-13 | Conclusion | 14 | References | 15 | | | Executive Summary: Marks and Spencer has been described in the "FTSE UK Series, which measure the performance of the 100 largest companies traded on the London Stock Exchange that pass screening for size and liquidity, as a nationally recognized, well-established and financially secure company" (FTSE.com). Although Marks and Spencer has a good financial position and reputation in the market, there are times where the price of its shares fluctuate as on the 27th February UBS – a financial services company - included Marks and Spencer to its “buy” list, as a result the share price of Marks and Spencer raised from 353.4 to 360.1 (Financial Times (a)) and there was a fall in the share price in the beginning of October, mid November and at the launch of March caused by the fall in the market value. The increase in Marks and Spencer share price on the 27th February and the UBS decision to put M&S on its buying list could be linked to announcement of the Interim Management Statement on the 10th of January which indicated the glowing performance that M&S done in the 3rd quarter of its...
Words: 2420 - Pages: 10
...Marks and Spencer IB209 Marketing Analysis Anshul Maini 1036526 Marks and spencer also called as M&S and Marks and Sparks was found in the year 1884 by two people Michael Marks and Tom spencer (Bevan, 2007). Ever since then marks and spencer has delivered goods of the best quality and now to day it stands as one of the best retail chains in the UK. They primarily deal in Clothing and food. The company is headquartered in London, UK and is the one of the biggest companies in the world. It’s ranked #725 in the Forbes 2000 list (Marks and Spencer on Forbes 2000 list, 2011) and is amongst the top 5 retail firms in the country. Currently the chairman of the company is Robert Swanell and the Chief Executive is Marc Bolland. (Annual Report, 2011). Over the years Marks and Spencer has gone through ups and downs. It is the first British Retail firm to make a Profit before tax of over £1 Billion which was in the year 1998.After that the company had hit rock-bottom which was due to heavy competition and the company’s inability to satisfy its customers, it went into heavy losses in its turnover. After amending a few policies and the change of the Chief executive, the company looked more closely at the customer’s needs, wants and demands and modelled their strategies around it, thus rising it from the ashes. However again in 2008, the company went into a credit crunch which was mainly because of the recession. (M&S shares dive on gloomy outlook, 2008) (Bevan, 2007).Although M&S has...
Words: 3449 - Pages: 14
...COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES THROUGH PROPOSED STRATEGY 1) Strength of Marks and Spencer: Skilled Workforce PROPOSED INTERNAL STARTEGY: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Through the proposed internal strategy of training and development, Marks and Spencer will able to enhance the skills and competency of their current staff, which is one of their strength and make them more knowledgeable and skilful in order to differentiate their service from their competitors and such differentiation in their service quality will give them competitive advantage (Marks and Spencer, 2012) 2) Weakness of Marks and Spencer: High operating Cost PROPOSED INTERNAL STARTEGY: COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY Marks and Spencer operating cost is high, as per their annual report their operating cost for the year 2011 was £2,951.3 m and was up by 3.5 % (excluding bonus) from last year. Such statistics shows that they need to work on their operating cost to control them through cost control strategy, which will be focusing on both types of cost (fixed and Variable). Marks and Spencer will get competitive advantage by executing such strategy as they will be reducing their cost and such saved capital can be used for penetration of some of the products. (Marks and Spencer, 2012) 3) Opportunity for Marks and Spencer: London Olympics 2012 PROPOSED EXTERNAL STARTEGY: SALES PROMOTION Marks and Spencer can promote their products during the event in a unique way from their competitors; because they...
Words: 316 - Pages: 2
...MARKETING: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE SM1010 MARKS AND SPENCERS – PLACE MODULE TUTOR: JAYA AKUNURI SEMINAR TUTOR: RULA AL-ABDULRAZAK CONTENTS Page Introduction 4 Abstract 4 Distribution Channel 5-6 Distribution Strategies 7-8 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 10-11 INTRODUCTION Few producers sell their goods direct to the consumers, however most use third parties or intermediaries to bring their products to the market. They try to forge a distribution channel- a set of independent organisation involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user. This report will examine the way Marks and Spencer’s sell their goods direct or indirect to the consumers. The following features...
Words: 1847 - Pages: 8
...MBA 405 - Global Organisational Environment Content |1. Abstract |Page 4 | |2. Task 1: Learning log |Page 5 - 12 | |3. Task 1: Summary of academic journal |Page 13 -14 | |4. Task 1: Reference |Page 15 | |5. Task 1: Indexes |PDF file | |6. Task 2: Marks and Spencer operation report |Page 16 - 26 | |7. Task 2: Reference |Page 27 - 28 | ABSTRACT MBA 405 - Global Organisational Environment Probably everyone will agree that at the beginning of the 21st century, the impact of globalisation on countries, societies, businesses and individuals have been much more evident than ever before. Especially for businesses and organizations, globalization has impacted considerably on the way businesses are operated, managed and developed. Success of businesses and organizations have been so dependent on how well and proactively they have responded to the global organizational environment...
Words: 7346 - Pages: 30
...Financial Statement Analysis Assignment 4 “Mark and Spencer’s Accounting Choices ” 20 February 2015 Semester 2, Period 1 2014/2015 Samantha Jay (10962670), Tutorial Group 1 Michelle Liva ()10962581, Tutorial Group 2 ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. Exhibit 1 and 2 report the income statements and excerpts from the notes to Marks and Spencer’s financial statements for the fiscal years ending between March 21, 2005 and March 31, 2009. Critically analyze M&S’s accounting choices. What choices may have helped the company to overstate its net profits between 2005 and 2009? In the report, it states that Marks and Spencer was criticized for the company’s accounting for pension liabilities, intangible assets, and depreciation. In regards to pension liabilities, Marks and Spencer reports these liabilities as equity. In 2007, M&S sold and leased back 1.1 million of its property portfolio to a joint venture with its own pension fund. M&S has full control since it was leased back from the joint venture, therefore making it equity. The result of this was reducing M&S’s pension liability. Another issue is that Marks and Spencer Group treats the software costs as an intangible asset. These costs include external direct costs of material and services and the payroll/payroll related costs for employees. Typically, the capitalization of intangible assets, particularly software development outlays, is prohibited because...
Words: 806 - Pages: 4
...INTRODUCTION Marks and Spencer was pioneered by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in 1884. Over the years it has developed from a single market stall to a global multi-chain retailer. It is one of the best-known traders and UK’s fifth largest retailer for clothes, footwear, groceries and home appliances. It has more than 895 stores across 40 regions around the world. Their turnover is split between 54% food and 46% general merchandise. They deliver quality services, value, and maintain trust among their employees and customers by complying with the various laws, policies and procedures (Marks and Spencer, 2013). The financial statements of the company that measures the overall financial performance shows a true overview of the company and it is prepared using the accepted accounting principles. The financial ratios prepared using the financial report acts as a useful management tool for effective planning and financial management for Marks and Spencer’s. It is also used as an indicator of organizational performance by funders and investors. FINANCIAL RATIOS PROFITABILITY RATIOS S.No | RATIOS | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 1. | Gross profit Margin | 37.9% | 38.2% | 37.8% | 37.9% | 2. | Operating Profit Margin | 8.9% | 8.6% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 3. | Return on total capital employed | 16.2% | 16.3% | 14.1% | 14.1% | 4. | Return on ordinary shareholders capital employed | 24.1% | 22.3% | 17.5% | 18.3% | Over the past four years, the sales revenue of marks and spencer has...
Words: 2401 - Pages: 10
...Dr. Andreea AVADANEI Marks&Spencer Report 2011 With a 21 million customers visiting weekly its stores and group revenue of £9.7bn in 2011, Marks&Spencer (M&S) is one of the most important UK retailers. Expanded all across Europe, Asia and Middle East, M&S has a store network of 152 wholly-owned and partlyowned locations and 209 franchises (2011), transforming more and more into a strong international business presence that offers great value clothing, extremely high quality food and a variety of home products. M&S strategy is to become a global multi-channel retailer (Bolland, 2011) in order to reduce its dependency on the UK market conditions and economic climate and to create a powerful brand serving a worldwide customer base. With an extraordinary understanding of customers selective needs based on a complex combination of market analyses and research feedback to identify trends and factors influencing their choices and decisions, M&S provides quality, value and innovation, positioning customers at the heart of the entire business. This report presents an overview of M&S activity and perspectives using a) a comprehensive PESTEL analysis to point out the trends and the environmental influences affecting the business, b) Porter’s five forces framework to explore and evaluate M&S attractiveness, c) a detailed SWOT analysis to highlight the company’ main advantages and hot spots and to identify any opportunity it can capitalize on and challenges that may endanger its future...
Words: 2407 - Pages: 10
...Strategic Planning of Marks and Spencer Group Executive Summary: In this report a step by step analysis of Marks and Spencer group strategic planning is presented. Mark and Spencer is one of the biggest retail company in UK and leading company producing women apparels. The report is begun with analyzing various external environment of the company that includes STEEP analysis and it helps to understand the external environment of the company. After that the report covers the business plan of the company with its strategic planning section, and how the company is able to implement its strategic planning. Whereas the focus of strategic planning is on the whole organization and the focus of the business plan is on a particular product or service. Contents Executive Summary: 2 Introduction and Company background: 4 Task 1 5 1.1 The importance of external factors affecting Marks and Spencer Group: 5 1.2 Analyze the needs and expectations of stakeholders of Marks and Spencer Group: 7 1.3 Analyze the major changes taking place in the external environment that will affect strategy of M&S: 8 Task 2 8 2.1 Use appropriate tools to analyze the effects of current business plans 8 2.2 Review the position of M&S in its current market 9 2.3 Evaluate the competitive strengths and weaknesses of M&S 10 Task 3 10 3.1 Use modeling tools to develop strategic options for M&S 10 3.2 Develop a comparative understanding of activity from organization...
Words: 6011 - Pages: 25
...writing a report to senior management to tell them all the information for Marks and Spencer such as Financial Highlights, share price, figures and Facts. Marks and Spencer are a company which have done outstanding and their figures have shown that their plan A has been successful. Procedure I completed research online to find financial statistics of Marks and Spencer, this information was found on the internet in the annual report of Marks and Spencer. I viewed the statistics to analyse the findings such as group revenue, profit before tax and final dividend. Findings This data shows that group revenue, group operating profit, profit before tax, earnings per share and final dividend. Group revenue shows that it has rose by 2.0% in 7 moths which is a great achievement and also it’s 9.9 billion, which is a lot for 7 months. Also this year financial highlights have been amazing the group revenue at the end of 53 weeks the percentage went up by 4.2%. Due to the really good results from group revenue the group profit before tax meant down by 15.7% which means they didn’t get much of profit in those few months. As you can see that the underlying earnings per share is 34.9p, it also has upgraded 0.3% which means that they have improved quite greatly. It makes sense to say that the final divined came up to 17.0p in 52 weeks which is a good achievement bearing in mind that they didn’t make much profit before tax and when down by 1.2%. As you can see above Marks and Spencers...
Words: 476 - Pages: 2
