A Critical Evaluation of the Key Marketing Strategy Decisions for Marks & Spencer PLC.

ABSTRACT

This report inspects Marks & Spencer – a famous brand and one of the UK’s driving retailers. A general summary of Marks & Spencer is trailed by a PESTEL analysis which offers a complete and thorough look at the Marks & Spencer’s strategic business environment. SWOT analyses, five forces, PESTEL, value chain analysis, marketing mix analysis, and recommendations are all included.

This report also highlights some of the most important marketing functions and subsequently recommends areas for improvements and actions arising from the analysis of Brand Positioning, Target Markets, Quarterly Reports, and the elements of the Marketing Mix. The recommendations suggested in this report are to support Marks & Spencer’s intermediate and long-term goals with a focus on the UK market.

INTRODUCTION

Marks & Spencer PLC was founded in 1884 in Leeds by Michael Marks and re-branded as Marks & Spencer (M&S) 10 years later when a partnership with Thomas Spencer was formed. Having begun as a market stall, today it is one of the UK’s leading multinational stores with over 1,382 stores worldwide, including 468 stores in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. M&S offers clothing, home products, and luxury food products both in store and online (Marks & Spencer, 2015).

During the years of the financial crisis, M&S continued its strong brand momentum by maintaining high-quality pricing and supporting it through marketing investments. As a result, the slight decline of sales and share prices in 2008 were followed by steady increases in those categories a year later, escaping the hard to reverse grip of discounted prices felt by similar companies (The Marketing Society, 2010). M&S’s social, ethical and environmental business commitments have also helped it build strong brand positioning based on responsible sourcing, community care, and waste reduction (Marks & Spencer, 2016).

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