1.) Why are M&S in this predicament?
The Report begins with an executive summary in order to explain the Situation of Marks & Spencer hence it follows an analysis of their predicament.
Marks & Spencer was founded in 1894. In 1926 M&S is floated on the London stock exchange. They became more international in the year of 1973 with their first overseas store in Canada and in 1975 they build up stores in Paris and Brussel. In the year 1997 M&S profits exceeded £1billion. Finally Marks & Spencer became an international company, which spread through Europe, North America and Asia. The product portfolio of M&S comprises a whole range of clothing, footwear, gifts, house appliances, and food.
As of the 1990s more competitors appear to the clothing market and M&S loses market shares. Competitors like Zara, The Gap or H&M were trend oriented, innovative and were able to sell their products at a very low price. In the autumn of 1998 British retailing descended into a sudden recession. In contrast to the first recession M&S did not come through unscathed. This recession due to more trouble in sales and profits reduced dramatically. Moreover M&S operated on the basis of two clothing collections per year. They need nine month ahead of the season in order to place their products to the market. According to the rivals The Gap, Zara or H&M, which had 14 season per year with stock changes every three weeks. M&S was not anymore in the position to supply their products at the right place and at the right time. Furthermore the M&S style contrasted badly with that of its innovative niche rivals. For instance rivals like Zara prefer to present goods in sparse an attractive “boutique –style” combinations. Whereas in the stores of M&S, goods were still displayed en masse by product category, used huge racks each filled with particular style an color of jacket, skirt or trousers. In order