SWOT and PESTEL analysis of Marks and Spencer

The report provides a detailed SWOT and PESTEL analysis of Marks and Spencer, evaluating the internal and external factors affecting the company. It also outlines different leadership styles and recommends a suitable style for the company. The report critically comments on the corporate social responsibility of the company and summarizes the findings with a reflection report.

CONTEXT
OF BUSINESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3
TASK..............................................................................................................................................3
SWOT and PESTEL analysis of Marks and Spencer..................................................................3
Evaluation....................................................................................................................................6
Compare and contrast between different styles of leadership and outline of suitable leadership
style..............................................................................................................................................7
Recommend suitable leadership style and how it can help in overcoming challenges with
justification..................................................................................................................................8
Critical comment on CSR used by the company.........................................................................9
Reflection report..........................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy supports the company in effective planning, analyzing strengths and
weakness, enhancing efficiency of business and gaining competitive advantage (What is business
strategy, 2021). Business strategy can is further classified into three levels which are corporate,
business unit and functional level. Marks and Spencer is a public limited retail company which
was founded in 1884 in Leeds by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. M&S offers variety of
products such as clothing, home products and food products through their stores across countries.
The report will define SWOT and PESTEL analysis of the company and evaluation of factors
which be helpful in gaining insight of the business environment. The study will outline different
leadership styles which will be helpful for the company to overcoming challenges which will be
faced by the company. The project will critically analyze and comment on the corporate social
responsibility of the company. Lastly the report will be summarized with a reflection report
which will outline the knowledge which has been gained through this report.
TASK
SWOT and PESTEL analysis of Marks and Spencer
SWOT analysis of Marks and Spencer
SWOT analysis is a framework which helps in determining and in maintaining
competitive position of the company within the industry. This framework helps in determining
core strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats which can help in forming new ideas (SWOT
analysis, 2021). A detailed SWOT analysis of Marks and Spencer has been discussed below:
STRENGTHS
 Recognized brand- Marks and
Spencer has strengthened their brand
image in the industry with their
quality products which will be helpful
in meeting customer satisfaction.
 Variety of products- M&S offers
dynamic variety of products which has
WEAKNESS
 High cost due to manual process-
Marks and Spencer relies on manual
operations which has been a weakness
for the company as this involves high
cots and is time consuming operations.
 Decline in sales- M&S has poor
supply chain management which leads

been a strength for the company that
helped them in strengthening their
customer base.
to non-availability of products. Such
practices have created adverse
impacted on the band image of the
company.
OPPORTUNITIES
 Global expansion- As M&S is a
multinational company which is
operating in many countries such as
Russia, India, Brazil, Poland,
Indonesia and UK (SWOT analysis of
M&S, 2020). The company has been
actively engaged in their global
expansion and this can bring various
growth and profitable opportunities
for the company by opening new
branches in ither countries.
 Online store- E-commerce is the new
future of shopping and this can bring
various opportunities for business to
enhance their sales and revenues of
the company.
THREATS
 High competition- Marks and
Spencer face high competition which
has been a threat for the company
(SWOT analysis of Marks and
Spencer, 2020). The main competitors
of the company are UCB, Tommy
Hilfiger, Zara and many more.
PESTEL analysis of Marks and Spencer
PESTEL analysis is a framework which helps in understanding macro (external) forces
such as political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors (Scanning
environment: PEST analysis, 2016). This model helps in monitoring and responding to change in
macro environment which helps in creating competitive advantage. A brief discussion on the
PESTEL analysis in context of Marks and Spencer has been discussed beneath:
Political factors- Some of the political factors such as free trade policies have been a
political benefit for the company. Due to Brexit, Marks and Spencer has faced many losses as

this has led to incline in tax and production cost which created an adverse impact on the
profitability of the business (Pestel analysis of Marks and Spencer, 2019). This factor was also
responsible for increasing the price of products and thus led to decline in customer base of the
company.
Economic factors- An incline in inflation rate in economy affects company's operation
in the economic price of their product and services. Economic factors such as inflation, interest,
foreign exchange rate and economic growth patterns are some of the factors which influence
business operations. The strategy of Marks and Spencer is appropriately aligned with quality of
the products to the customers. Whereas, some financial crisis such as decline in demand for high
quality products due to low disposable income of customers has been faced by Marks and
Spencer.
Social factors- Due to incline in consumption of readymade means, this has been an
opportunity for many food stores such as- Marks and Spencer to strengthen their competitive
position within the industry. In context of Marks and Spencer, the company offers a variety of
readymade food products which has been an advantage for the company. Whereas, due to rapid
changes in trend this has been a factor which can influence and make Marks and Spencer face
unfortunate consequences.
Technological factors- Marks and Spencer announced technological transformation
program which enable the company to become digital first business and deliver diversify the
customer experience. The brand understands the role of technology in successful operation and
its importance in delivering agile and simple are customer focus products (M&S PESTEL
analysis, 2019). As self-checkout and online shopping are modern day retail business trends, in
order to meet customer demand and maintain competitive position within the retail industry,
Marks and Spencer establishes a strong E-Commerce presence by offering their goods services
through online shopping which has been an advantage for the profitability of business. By
implementing self-checkout system, this has also been a strength for the company by meeting
quality customer experience.
Environmental factors- Marks and Spencer focused on becoming a more sustainable
retail brand which majorly focused on reducing carbon emissions from the manufacturing and
deforestation for farming land. The company also created an initiative for fair trade to better

compensate foreign producers which created an impact on the environment and such initiatives
has been an advantage for marks and Spencer.
Legal factors- Over the years, Marks and Spencer has been involved in multiple legal
disputes which has been responsible for creating an adverse impact on the company. Due to
change in Britain's trade laws post Brexit, it has been one of the legal factors which has
negatively influenced Marks and Spencer.
Evaluation
From detailed study of external factors of Marks and Spencer, it can be evaluated that due
to change in these factors it can lead to any opportunity or threat faced by the company. Some of
the factors such as change in trade policies, incline in inflation rate, economic growth patterns
and advancement of technology are factors which can drive opportunity for Marks and Spencer
to strengthen their brand image and maintain their competitive position within the industry
(Belás, Kmecova and Čepel, 2020). Due to incline in demand for readymade food products, it
has been another benefit for Marks and Spencer for their food range. As company is also
involved in environmental initiatives where they focus on reducing in their carbon footprint by
minimizing carbon emission from the manufacturing units and deforestation are some of the
initiatives started by the company which has attracted various opportunities for creating strong
customer base and goodwill of the organisation within the industry. There are some of the factors
which has created an adverse impact on the operations and profitability of Marks and Spencer.
Due to Brexit, the company has faced incline in tax and production cost and also faced financial
crisis as the demand of the products has been declined. Some of the factors such as rapid change
in Trend and technology are also responsible for creating unfortunate consequences which can
hamper business position and goodwill within the industry. Due to any change in legal factors,
this has been responsible for creating a negative impact on the business operations in continuity
of Marks and Spencer.
By critically analyzing the internal factors of Marks and Spencer with the help of SWOT
analysis, there are several approaches which will help the brand to use their strength in order to
minimize the impact of threats and weakness for the opportunity on the business (Dobrovič and
et.al, 2021). Marks and Spencer is a reputed brand which offers variety of products and this has
been a strength which has supported the company in establishing strong customer base and is

helpful in increasing the sales of the product sold by the company. Due to strong brand image,
this supported Marks and Spencer to face competition within the industry and strengthen their
growth of the business with the help of online stores and also successful expand their business
through global expansion for business growth and higher profitability.
Compare and contrast between different styles of leadership and outline of suitable leadership
style
Leadership style is the behaviours of leaders when they direct, motivate, guide and
manage group of people (Leadership styles and framework, 2021). The style of leader defines the
approach of a business leader and how they behave when they lead a group. There are several
leadership styles and some are discussed below:
LEADERSHIP
STYLE
CONCEPT ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Democratic
Leadership
Democratic
leadership is also
known as effective
leadership where
business leaders
encourage
employees to
participate in
decision making
process
(Leadership styles
and their pros and
cons, 2020). In this
form of leadership,
business leaders
seek opinions of
their employees
before making a
Democratic
leadership
encourages
collaboration,
supports in forming
creative solutions,
increases team
engagement and
productivity which
leads to more
innovative approach.
This leadership style
can also lead to more
communication gap and
confusion as
involvement of multiple
people can lead to such
circumstances and also
require longer time to
form decision.

final decision.
Consultative
Leadership
Consultative
leadership style is
the leadership style
which focuses on
team building and
uses skills of
others to create
plans and form
decisions
(Consultative
Leadership, 2021).
This form of
leadership focuses
on engagement,
creativity and role
of leaders within
the organisation.
Consultative
leadership supports
in creating strong
interpersonal
relationship between
business leaders and
their subordinates
and create a sense of
involvement in
engagement within
the company.
One of the biggest
drawbacks of this
leadership style is that
it can be discouraging
or frustrating for team
members if their ideas
are overlooked.
In context of Marks and Spencer, democratic leadership can be an effective leadership
style which will be helpful in encouraging employee participation and enhancing their creativity
in order to form innovative decisions. This leadership style will be helpful in strengthening the
competitive position of company and their goodwill within the industry.
In case of Marks and Spencer, as the company follows consultative leadership, this
allows their employees to share their ideas and opinions which are consulted by business leaders
to seek their valuable input in forming decision (Torres and Sidorova, 2019). Such leadership
style support Marks and Spencer to form innovative ideas which will help them in differentiating
with other brands and maintain their position while facing the competitive business environment.

Recommend suitable leadership style and how it can help in overcoming challenges with
justification
The following is the leadership style which can be beneficial to the organisation and can
assist Marks and Spencer to bring about effective transformation in the business:
 Participative leadership style- The participatory leadership style is founded on a
fundamental philosophy that encourages all team members to engage in the organization's
decision-making activities so that they may make successful decisions with the assistance
of workers' creativity and creative approaches. Such a leadership style will enable Marks
and Spencer in motivating staff, which will aid in meeting objectives and making
appropriate decisions. This leadership style, on the other hand, might be a time-
consuming procedure. Following a participatory leadership style will assist Marks and
Spencer in building a stronger team and increasing the organization's productivity.
Participative leadership takes time, and Marks and Spencer may find communication
hurdles that interrupt the flow of information and disrupt business continuity. Many
difficulties, such as security concerns and inaccurate information, might arise as a result
of increasing transparency in information sharing, which can lead to poor decision-
making.
Critical comment on CSR used by the company
Corporate social responsibility is a concept where companies integrate social and
environmental concerns in their business operations and integration with the stakeholders on
voluntary basis. In context of Marks and Spencer, the corporate social responsibility or
sustainability strategy of the brand is based on environmental, social and governance (ESG)
strategy (Sustainability- Marks and Spencer, 2021). This strategy will help the brand in building
a sustainable future by making commitment to tackle the main challenges which are faced by the
business, society and planet in current and future scenario.
Plan A is where M&S categorizes all of their CSR efforts. Climate change, waste
production and management, raw material sustainability, equitable connections, including fair-
trade, and health are among the issues covered in the research. M&S has maintained a fair
balance between the two by getting most dairy and meat products from local farms and buying
fair-trade commodities such as cotton, sugar, and coffee from developing countries. The study

also discusses the important management components of CSR activity management, such as how
commitments are valued in Plan A and the report, feedback from key stakeholders, and the
company's long-term strategy. Plan A 2025 have multiple future strategy that focuses on
customer and employee well-being, life and community change, and ecological sustainability
(M&S Sustainability Strategy, 2019). By concentrating on essential actions in each priority area,
such as sustainable sourcing, raising £25 million for charity, and eliminating food waste by 2025,
the plan helps the company accomplish its aim of being a truly sustainable store.
Reflection report
It can be understood that to critically analyze the internal environmental of an
organisation SWOT analysis is implemented. With the help of SWOT analysis, Marks and
Spencer was able to identify strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats where the strength of
Marks and Spencer supported them in minimizing the adverse impact of weakness and threats
and tap numerous opportunities for business expansion and growth. In order to have better
understanding of external business environment, PESTLE analysis supported in analyzing the
change in business environment of Marks and Spencer. While capturing the data and analyzing
the report, the knowledge regarding leadership styles has been gathered and it supported in
understanding the need of leadership style and effective business leaders within an organisation.
It can be seen that there are ample of leadership styles which can be the characteristic of a
business leader while managing their team.
There are several leadership styles which are- democratic, delegative, participative and
consultative leadership style which supports in forming decisions with the help of employee
engagement and their opinions. Whereas, there are several leadership styles where employee’s
participation is not allowed or employee engage in business activities or decision-making
process. In order to enhance the efficiency of business retail industry, Marks and Spencer must
follow participative leadership style which will help them encouraging employees to participate
in decision making process. This will foster innovation and creative ideas in the business and this
will be helpful in maximizing business profitability and ensure business success. Corporate
social responsibility is an important factor which acts and represents the responsibility of an
organisation towards the environment. In case of Marks and Spencer, the brand focuses on the
sustainability, governance and environment strategy.

CONCLUSION
With the help of detailed analysis of report, it can be concluded that business strategy is
the roadmap which lead to desired goals. Some of the key components of business strategy are
mission, vision, core values and business objectives of the company. Business strategy is the
outline of all the decisions and actions which has been taken by the company to meet their goals
and secure a competitive position within the industry. It can be understood that with the help of
PESTEL and SWOT analysis, the company was able to analyze their external and internal
business environment and change sin the environment which can bring opportunities and threats
for the profitability and sustainability of the organization.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Belás, J., Kmecova, I. and Čepel, M., 2020. Availability of human capital and the development
of the public infrastructure in the context of business activities of SMEs. Administratie si
Management Public.
Dobrovič, J and et.al., 2021. Application of the DEA Model in Tourism SMEs: An Empirical
Study from Slovakia in the Context of Business Sustainability. Sustainability. 13(13).
p.7422.
Torres, R. and Sidorova, A., 2019. Reconceptualizing information quality as effective use in the
context of business intelligence and analytics. International Journal of Information
Management. 49. pp.316-329.
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