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M&S Financial Analysis and Annual Reports
I. Company Background
The first M&S store was originally only a market stall in Kirkgate Market, Leeds, which was started by Michael Marks in 1884 (Timeline, 2012). But the continuing success of the penny section led to a partnership with Tom Spencer in September of 1894 (Timeline, 2012). The new company was based on the principle of quality, value, service, innovation and trust (Timeline, 2012). M&S’s main business was primarily on the sale of food products but during 1920 to 1940 the company had expanded into clothing with one of its most popular product, the underwear (Timeline, 2012). The current M&S developed a strategy that aims to become an international, multi-channel retailer which was initially set out by Marc Bolland in November, 2010 (2012, 2012, p.2). The strategy was to enhance the brand by developing the clothing, home and food offerings while improving the store design to make it easier to shop (2012, 2012, p.8). The strategy also includes the development and expansion of the multi-channel distribution along with the commitment to deliver consistent returns to its shareholders (2012, 2012, p.2). The strategy was further divided into the three revenue segments which are clothing & home, multi-channel and international (2012, 2012, p.ii).
The clothing & home segment is composed of Food and General Merchandise which includes clothing and home products (2012, 2012, p.ii). The clothing segment was further divided into womenswear, lingerie and beauty, menswear, and kidswear (2012, 2012, p.20).
The customers are primarily focused on the wearability and versatility of the clothing products offered by the company, which was primarily due to a limited budget (2012, 2012, p.5). This was seen in the strong performance of the lingerie, menswear and kidswear while the womenswear segment was considered to be