Strategic Management: Marks & Spencer Company Profile and Comparison with Competitor

This report provides a detailed analysis of the company profile of Marks & Spencer and compares it with its competitor in terms of market position, innovation, CSR, and governance. Learn more about strategic management in the retail industry.

Strategic Management
(Assignment 1)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Company Profile..........................................................................................................................1
Comparison with competitor........................................................................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Strategic management refers to a process in which the organizations make the use of
different types of approaches, models and theories so that they are able to attain their goals and
objectives effectively and efficiently (Aguinis, Edwards and Bradley, 2017). This is required so
that the firms are able to make sure that they frame their strategies in the right manner and thus
are able to gain a strategic and competitive edge over their various competitors in the market.
This report is based on Marks & Spencer. It is a retail company which has headquarters in
London, United Kingdom. In this assignment, detailed focus will be made on the profile of the
company. Additionally, detailed analysis on extent to which the company has engaged in
different areas compared to competition will be discussed as a part of this project.
MAIN BODY
Company Profile
Industry- The industry in which Marks & Spencer operates is Retail Industry. The retail
industry in U.K. Is quite dynamic in nature and has wide scope. The industry offers bright
opportunities in terms of expanding of the business and thus aiming for higher-level of profits.
There are plenty of segments in the retail industry in the country. Therefore, Marks & Spencer
operates in clothing segment in which it provides branded clothes and other accessories to the
customers. This segment of the industry has various players which offer close competition to the
company. Arcadia Group is a close competitor of Marks & Spencer which has plenty of stores in
the country and a decent market share. The retail sector economic output was 92.8 billion pounds
in the year 2017. The retail sector employment was 2.8 million in the year 2017. There are
3,19,000 retail businesses in the year 2018. The industry has a scope for the organization to earn
higher-level of profits because it offers the different types of products and services which can
cater to the needs and requirements of the various customers in the market. Thus in this manner
the organizations operating in this sector ensure that they can attain a higher growth rate in the
market.
Market position- The market position of Marks & Spencer is quite strong as the
organization has a market cap of $ 2.3 billion in the market which makes it a very strong player
in the worldwide market (Certo and et.al., 2016). In the clothing segment of the retail sector the
company competes with Arcadia Group and other competitors in the market. Thus due to the
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strong market position the company is in a position of expanding its range and targeting
enhancement of profits. The strong market position of the company is due to the fact that its
products are branded and are liked by the customers because it offers them at a reasonable price
as compared to its other competitors who are operating in the market. The Brand Image and
Massive Customer Base of Marks & Spencer are quite helpful for it to be able to consolidate its
market position as compared to the various other competitors who are operating in the market.
Through the use of strong marketing strategies which involve both the use of online as well as
offline channels the company has become one of the top clothing retailers not just in the U.K.
market but also in the international markets.
Country markets and size- The retail sector in U.K. is a very broad sector. The total value
of UK retail sales in 2019 stood at 394 billion pounds (Demir, Wennberg and McKelvie, 2017).
In the terms of size this market is broad in nature and covers segments like Food and Grocery,
Consumer Electronics, Fashion Apparels etc. Thus Marks & Spencer is a company which
operates in the Fashion Apparels segment in which it provides the different types of fashion
products to the various customers in the market. Thus the diverse range which the market offers
leads towards an opportunity for the company to use it by providing quality products and
services to the customers.
Background of the company- Marks & Spencer is a British multinational company which
has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom (Durand, Grant and Madsen, 2017). The
company specializes in selling the clothing, home products and food products in the market. It
operates in a number of locations all over the world. In the year 2019 the number of stores which
were operated by it in the market were 1463. The company provides branded products to its
customers and thus in this way is able to ensure that it has an established brand name and
goodwill in the market. It also has a significant online presence as it provides goods on its own
website to the customers as well as also operates on the other e-commerce websites. Thus in this
way it is able to reach a wide range of different customers effectively and efficiently by catering
to their needs and requirements.
Comparison with competitor
Innovation and Strategic Innovation-
Marks & Spencer- Marks & Spencer has engaged a lot in systematic innovation process.
It has made sure that it makes an entry into the different innovative segments in the market. The
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company launched its initiative of 'Only at M&S'. This initiative means that the company marks
the particular products which are available only at its stores (Engert, Rauter and Baumgartner,,
2016). Thus in this way it categorically highlights these products in front of the customers. This
helps them to be able to select these products which are provided only at the stores of the
company. Further a lot of improvements have been brought to the stores in the company. The
company has worked a lot on making its stores digital so that the customers are served
appropriately. The 'Only at M&S' strategy has seemed to work very well for the brand in the
market as it helps in connecting directly with the customers by forming a particular link with
them.
Arcadia Group- Arcadia Group's focus in the recent years has been on enhancement of its
online presence (Mavi and et.al., 2019). As there are various subsidiaries who are operating
under this group the enhancement of its online presence will make sure that the company is able
to target a wide range of its different customers. Also it has diversified its presence in the market
by diversifying into new markets and brining of new products for the customers. Further, the use
of advanced technology is being made widely in the stores of the firm by providing various types
of facilities to the different customers. The brand is working closely on the further measures
which can be taken by it for the purpose of innovation and strategic innovation so that it is able
to stay relevant in a dynamic and ever-changing business environment.
Thus, In the terms of Innovation and Strategic Innovation, Marks & Spencer is ahead of
Arcadia Group because it makes use of extensive innovation strategies and techniques through
which it is able to make an entry into the various customer segments in the market effectively
and efficiently and earn higher-level of profits.
CSR-
Marks & Spencer- Marks & Spencer is fulfilling its CSR by implementing its Plan A.
Through the implementation of this plan the company is aiming for contributing towards
building a sustainable future (Rosenberg Hansen and Ferlie, 2016). The company focuses on
People, Product and Planet. Here also, there are significant areas of focus for it through which it
can contribute towards its best in helping in the sustainable development in the future. In the
CSR strategy of the company, wide topics are covered such as Community & Charities,
Colleague Volunteering, Marks & Start, Human Rights, Food Waste, Climate & Energy,
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Packaging and Waste from M&S Operations. Thus in this way the company has made sure that a
substantial share of its revenues and profits are diverted towards the CSR initiatives.
Arcadia Group- Arcadia Group's CSR initiative is Fashion Footprint. Through this CSR
initiative, the company's aim is fashioning a sustainable future. Ethics of the company are framed
so that it operates in a legal manner and can behave fairly with everyone who is involved with
the business. The company is also aiming to provide a positive working environment for the
employees and make sure that their safety is given importance. Further, the policies of the
company also aim for conservation of the environment.
Therefore, it can be said that in the terms of CSR Marks & Spencer Company leads from
the front because its CSR initiatives are much wider in their range and scope as compared to
Arcadia Group. The CSR strategy of the company focuses on the wide range of needs and
requirements of the people living in the society and is also able to voluntarily contribute in all
possible forms towards the development and well-being of the society. Thus the CSR strategy of
the company is much better as compared to Arcadia Group thereby helping it in fulfilling the
various types of requirements as per the law in the right manner.
Governance and Ethics-
Marks & Spencer- According to the Corporate Governance Statement 2020 of Marks &
Spencer it is clear that the main focus of the company is on ensuring that the transformation
strategy which has been framed by it can be accelerated which thus can benefit the different
stakeholders of the company by ensuring long-term sustainable growth for them in the future
(Siegel and Leih, 2018). In the statement, the various types of provisions have been provided.
Thus the processes which have been undertaken by the company and the compliance with each
provision can be effectively highlighted with this statement. Thus this statement acts as the
supplement of the information which has been provided by the company in its Annual Report
2020.
The core values at which Marks & Spencer puts its focus are Inspiration, Innovation,
Integrity and In Touch. The Code of Ethics set by the company has different parts such as
Personal and Business Behaviours, Working Relationships, Sustainability and Company
Property and Resources. Thus in this way it has made sure that the Code of Ethics has been set
clearly which frames the way for an ethical framework to be followed in the company which
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leads to dealing in a fair manner with the customers and also using the fair trade practices in the
business.
Arcadia Group- In Arcadia Group, the different provisions have been provided for the
purpose of Corporate Governance (Simandan, 2019). The Annual Report 2020 of the company
details the various ways in which it is dealing with Corporate Governance. It is ensuring that by
fulfilling the various types of provisions it is able to work according to the legal rules and
regulations which have been set for the companies. Thus it identifies the long-term options
through which strategic growth can be effectively achieved in the future thus helping in earning
of higher-level of profits.
Arcadia Group follows the Ethical Code of Conduct in the form of Ethical Trade
Programme (Zhao and et.al., 2017). Through it, they make sure that the different suppliers are
able to meet the standards which have been set in our Code of Conduct. The Ethical Trade
Programme of the company consists of Ethical Audit Programme, Strategic Country Activities,
Ethical Trade Projects and Modern Slavery Prevention. Thus in this way the company is making
sure that it clearly follows the Ethical Code of Conduct which is required as per the various
needs and requirements of the law so that it is able to work properly.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that strategic management refers to an
approach through which the companies are able to make sure that the use of strategies are made
by them in order to target the customers and earn higher-level of profits in the future. Managers
of an organization can adopt it to frame clear strategies which can help the organization in
gaining a competitive advantage in the market in the future and earn higher-level of profits. The
Company Profile can be created so as to know more about the company. Comparison with
competitor can be done so as to find out and assess the performance of the company as compared
to the competitors who are operating in the market.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Aguinis, H., Edwards, J. R. and Bradley, K. J., 2017. Improving our understanding of
moderation and mediation in strategic management research. Organizational Research
Methods. 20(4). pp.665-685.
Certo, S. T. and et.al., 2016. Sample selection bias and Heckman models in strategic
management research. Strategic Management Journal. 37(13). pp.2639-2657.
Demir, R., Wennberg, K. and McKelvie, A., 2017. The strategic management of high-growth
firms: A review and theoretical conceptualization. Long Range Planning. 50(4). pp.431-
456.
Durand, R., Grant, R. M. and Madsen, T. L., 2017. The expanding domain of strategic
management research and the quest for integration. Strategic Management Journal.
38(1). pp.4-16.
Engert, S., Rauter, R. and Baumgartner, R. J., 2016. Exploring the integration of corporate
sustainability into strategic management: a literature review. Journal of cleaner
production. 112. pp.2833-2850.
Mavi, R. K. and et.al., 2019. Ranking factors influencing strategic management of university
business incubators with ANP. Management Decision.
Rosenberg Hansen, J. and Ferlie, E., 2016. Applying strategic management theories in public
sector organizations: Developing a Typology. Public Management Review. 18(1). pp.1-
19.
Siegel, D. S. and Leih, S., 2018. Strategic management theory and universities: An overview of
the Special Issue. Strategic Organization. 16(1). pp.6-11.
Simandan, D., 2019. Iterative lagged asymmetric responses in strategic management and long-
range planning. Time & Society. 28(4). pp.1363-1381.
Zhao, E. Y. and et.al., 2017. Optimal distinctiveness: Broadening the interface between
institutional theory and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal. 38(1).
pp.93-113.
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