Marks and Spencer Clothing Business Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marks and Spencer Clothing Business - Case Study Example Perhaps more than any other business the retail companies must devote the utmost attention to planning and analysis. The classic example for the decline in the profitability due to wrong approach to customer tastes and lack of management ability to judge the requirements of the business is Marks and Spencer, who for years has been a stalwart of UK high streets, providing generation after generation with their smalls and snacks. This report envisages bringing out a comprehensive study of the problems that lead to the decline of the profits of the company, the possible solutions that may see the company back into action towards recovering its past glory. "For better or worse, globalization has fundamentally changed retail. The wide availability of low-cost products presents challenges for maintaining both top line and bottom-line performance. Retail customers have come to expect that they can have their cake and eat it too, meaning that they can choose from a wider array of product offerings and pay a very low price for these goods." (William Brandel 2006) In fact this was the potential problem faced by Marks & Spenser during the period from 1999 to 2003 by declining sales in the clothing division. While the other high street competitors made all efforts to supply highly fashionable cat walk trendy clothing for young women at unimaginable competitive prices, Mark & Spencer didn't have anything to offer its customers like those of its competitors. With the result that the customers found alternative sources to meet their expectations and this had virtually affected the sales of Mark & Spencer. This report makes a complete review of the course of events that led to the decline in the sales and the resultant lower profitability of Mark & Spencer. The report consists of sections detailing objectives, scope and methodology of the study followed by a review of available literature leading to findings, conclusions and recommendations for the improvement of the sales of clothing line of Marks & Spencer 2.0 Marks & Spencer- A Background: Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's leading retailers of clothing, food, home wear and financial services. The Company trades in 30 countries worldwide and had a group turnover in excess of 8 billion for the year 2002 with pre-tax profit of 335.9 million for the same year. In the year 1998 it became the first retailer to make a profit of over 1 billion. The Company has 347 stores around the world with 333 stores operating in the UK. As of 2002 the company had 60,000 employees on its