Marketing Strategy for Confectionery & Snacks at Marks & Spencer

This report provides a detailed analysis of the marketing strategies for Marks & Spencer's confectionery and snacks items. It begins by introducing Marks & Spencer and highlighting the challenges faced by their confectionery and snacks product line. The report then delves into an analysis of the organizational environment using PESTLE and Porter's Five Forces frameworks, identifying key political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors, as well as competitive forces. A SWOT analysis is conducted to assess the internal strengths and weaknesses of Marks & Spencer, along with external opportunities and threats. Furthermore, the report discusses the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) for the confectionery and snacks items and suggests strategies to improve branding and positioning in the market. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and recommendations for Marks & Spencer to revamp their marketing strategy and enhance the performance of their confectionery and snacks product line. Desklib provides this assignment solution and many other resources for students.

Marketing Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Marks & Spencer and their confectionery and snacks item........................................................3
Analysis of the organisational environment................................................................................4
Marketing Mix of confectionery and snacks items of Marks & Spencer...................................8
Strategies that help the company in improving its branding and positioning in the market ......9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Marketing management refers to the discipline which is focused on the application of
practical factors such as marketing orientation, methods and techniques. The organisation must
effectively manage the marketing techniques and strategies as it assist the business in developing
their sales (Gomes, Sousa and Vendrell-Herrero, 2020). This is required as the marketing team
analyses the external and internal environment and make strategies accordingly so that the
company can achieve the best. A marketing manager in the organisation is responsible for
managing the promotion of the products and services that are there in the business (Corte,
D'Andrea and Del Gaudio, 2017). In this report, Marks & Spencer is considered which is a
British multinational company which is headquartered in London and have their operations
spread across the world. This report revolves around revamping the marketing strategy of
confectionery and snacks of Marks & Spencer. Business environment is discussed along with the
opportunities and threats in the business.
MAIN BODY
Marks & Spencer and their confectionery and snacks item
Marks & Spencer is one of the leading firms in terms of the clothing products, their food
products are not so popular but are yet in demand. They have their operations running in almost
all the major countries and they are still thinking of expanding their operations in more countries
across the world. (Šķiltere and Bormane, 2018). The product line ion their food category that is
still struggling to make an impact is confectionery and snacks item as their sales has not
increased over the past few years. Their stock in these product are unsold and gets dead which
impacts the profitability of the company. The products in confectionery and snacks item are good
in quality and quantity but still they are somehow unable to capture the market share. The
business is struggling in their marketing strategies as they are unable to attract the customer
towards the specific product. Marks & Spencer has reportedly spent a lot of money on
confectionery and snacks items and they don't want to discontinue this product, therefore the
marketing strategies of these products must be revamped in order to attract more customers in
the business.

Analysis of the organisational environment
PESTLE Analysis
PESTLE Analysis is a framework that is used in the business as a tool to evaluate the
external environment and this framework considers all the six major component in the macro
environment that has capacity to impact and influence the operations of business. PESTLE
Analysis of confectionery and snacks items in Marks & Spencer: Political factors: This refers to the factors in the business that are impacted by the
political influence in the country. These factors in the business are connected with the
operations and profitability of the company such as tax policies and environmental laws
(Polk, 2018). In context of Marks & Spencer, they have their operation expanded across
the world and the company faces the challenge of Brexit as the taxes will negatively
impact the sales of confectionery and snacks products in the business. Marks & Spencer
should only import and export in countries in which the trade an tariff duties are low as
this will positively impact the revenue of the company. Marks & Spencer should only
export and import confectionery and snacks items in countries where the duties are less
otherwise their overall product cost will increase and they won't be able to provide the
best cost to the customers. Economic factors: This refers to the factor that are in relation with the economy of the
country in which the business is dealing. Factors such as employment rate, Gross
domestic product and economic condition of the country are major players and impact the
operations adversely (Thrassou, Vrontis and Bresciani, 2018). In context of Marks and
Spencer, their product line get adversely impacted by such factors. Marks and Spencer's
product such as sales of items would get negatively impacted in the economy when there
is recession period. In case the GDP is high and the economy is booming in such cases
the sales and operations of Marks and Spencer would get positively impacted. Social factors: This refers to the factors that are related with the social aspect of the
environment that is the society in which the business deals (Pandey, Sahu and Dash,
2018). The behaviour and preference of the customers are major example of this social
factor. Marks & Spencer's majority of products are highly dependent on this factor as the
customer's preference play a major role in driving sales in the business. Frequent change

in the taste of the customer is negative for the business as they need to change their
products frequently which adversely impacts the operations of business. If the business
has a set and established product and there is frequent demand of that product from the
customer's side, in that case it will positively impact the business. Technological factors: This refers to the change and innovation in the field of
technology that is used by the business in its operations. The business must innovate the
technology as this directly impacts the operations of business. In context of Marks and
Spencer, they can increase their sales in the food products by offering these services
online (Saura, Palos-Sanchez and Blanco-González, 2019). Marks and Spencer uses
online means of delivery which helps the customer in buying the products from the ease
of their home, this is positive for the business. Negative factor is if Marks & Spencer is
unable to maintain the technological change and unable to address the new innovations. Legal factors: Legal factors refer to the factors that are concerned with the legalities that
the business is required to follow in the country. These legal factors are different in
every case of the business. In context of Marks and Spencer, they want to revamp their
strategy in food products and hence pay attention to the legal laws that are are concerned
with the food policies. There are several laws that state the standards that need to
followed in the business, if the organisation is unable to maintain these standards then the
firm is eligible to face legalities and this will negatively impact the revenue and the
image of the business. If Marks & Spencer is able to maintain all the food and safety
standards in the organisation then it will help the business in gaining trust and credibility
which positively impacts the business. Environmental factors: This refers to the components of the business that are related
with the ecological nature and environment in which the organisation operates their
business (Hunt, 2020) (Hudák, Kianičková and Madleňák, 2017). In context of Marks &
Spencer, they must use ecological ingredients in their food products as they help the
business in deriving sales. The business must use the tools of production that are
environment friendly as this assists the business in sustaining themselves and the
environment, which positively impacts the image of business. If the organisation is using
the techniques that are not environment friendly them this would negatively impact the
business and its operations.

Porter's five forces
This model is used in the organisation in order to asses the competition in the industry
and the factors that impacts the operations of business. Porter stated five factors in his theory that
helps the organisation in evaluating the sustainability of the business in environment. This is one
of the most common strategy that is used by the businesses in order to evaluate their business
environment and competitive factor. Competition in the industry- This refers to the business that are already operating in the
industry and provides same type of products (Khan and Vorley, 2017). The higher the
competitor in the industry, the more it is difficult for the business to sustain in the
environment. In context of Marks and Spencer, they have huge number of competitors in
the industry. Products offered by the organisation such as clothing and food is common
and there are large number of industries that are dealing in this. Specifically the
confectionery and snacks items have huge competition as every packaged food making
company is producing these and are selling in the market at a competitive price.
Therefore the force of this is high as there are several competitors in the industry who
offer same range of products in the market. Potential of new entrants in the industry- The new entrants refers to the industries that
are willing to deal in the same industry. This refers to the restrictions and problems that
the industry has for the new entrants (Kandampully, Zhang and Jaakkola, 2018). If the
industry is easy to enter and there are only a few restriction in the industry then there are
good chances that there would be great number of new entrants in the industry and this
will impact the business. This force is high in the industry as confectionery and snacks
items can be manufactured and sold by anyone who is willing to start business in this
field. Power of suppliers- This refers to the bargaining power of supplier which means if the
supplier has the ability to increase the prices or not. If there are large number of suppliers
in the industry then it is less likely that they will influence they operations and
profitability of the business in a bad manner. If there is only few or one supplier in the

industry then they have monopoly and they can change the prices of raw materials
according to them. In context of Marks & Spencer, the power of suppliers in the industry
is low as they are several suppliers in the industry who are willing to provide raw
materials to Marks and Spencer, this gives advantage to the company as they can bargain
and even lower the price of the raw materials as there are several people in the industry. Power of customers- The business where the number of competitors are high, this means
that the bargaining power of the customers is high (Zulauf and Wagner, 2021). If the
customers have enough options then they can easily bargain with the company regarding
the prices. In context of Marks & Spencer, their products are common due to which the
business this force is high as the customers have a lot of other options in food specifically
in the confectionery and snacks item. Threat of substitutes- The organisation whose product can be easily substituted by other
products offered by competitive organisation faces challenges. In context of Marks &
Spencer, the threat of substitute is high as there are many products in the environment
which have the capacity to fulfil the need of confectionery and snacks items.
SWOT Analysis of Marks & Spencer
SWOT Analysis is conducted by the business in order to assess and analyse the factors that
impact the internal operations of the business (Bagiev, Pogrebova and Konnikov, 2017). This is
done to evaluate the internal factors of the environment. In order to revamp the marketing
strategies of confectionery and snacks items in Marks & Spencer, SWOT analysis is conducted
further:
Strengths- This helps the business in sustaining and increasing the profitability of the
business. Few of such strengths are discussed below: Clear brand image- Marks & Spencer has been in the industry for a long time and they
enjoy a premium place in the market. Almost everyone in the UK is aware about the
goodwill of Marks and Spencer and many people trust and think that this organisation is
credible and provides the best quality in the market. This is one of the major strength of
the company as through this they generate majority of the sales in the business.
 Diversity and innovations- The product line and operations of the business are
diversified which helps the business in covering majority of the market share in different

industry. They are quick to adopt to the new innovations in the field of technology as it
helps the business in coping up with the environment.
Weaknesses- There are some major weaknesses that the company faces and this
adversely impact the operations of the business, few of such weakness of Marks & Spencer are
discussed below: Supply chain scalability- The organisation is unable to maintain their supply chain which
impacts the sales of the business. They have expanded their operations in most of the
major countries and they need to manage their supply chain system as this helps the
business in timely delivery of the products. If the organisation is unable to provide the
products and meet the demand then it will negatively impact their future business and
sales.
 Inability to successfully penetrate in the food industry- Marks and Spencer has a good
market share in the clothing industry but somehow it fails to dominate the food industry.
They have huge problems in this area due to which their overall profitability ratio is
impacted.
Opportunities- There are several opportunities in the market that has ability to transform
the business and Marks & Spencer's operation. Few off such opportunities are discussed below:
 New segments- Clothing and the food industry is majorly evolving and there are several
segments in which the company can come and make use of it. These segments are
currently untouched and Marks and Spencer has good chances of coming into these
segments and effectively dominate them.
Threats- This refers to the factors in the environment that has an ability to impact the
growth and operations of the business. These threats must be dealt or the business will face
major issues:
 Competition- The clothing and the food industry is filled with competition and Marks
and Spencer needs to deal with this threat otherwise they will lose their grip in the
market.
Marketing Mix of confectionery and snacks items of Marks & Spencer
Marketing mix is an effective tool that helps the business in analysing the capacity of the
products and the services to dominate the market (Martensen and Mouritsen, 2017).. Marketing
mix is further applied on the confectionery and snacks items of Marks & Spencer:

Product- The product offered by Marks and Spencer is confectionery and snacks items which
has high substitute in the market. The organisations offers a wide variety of product line in the
confectionery and snacks items. They offer every kind of beverage and they modify their
products according to the culture I which they want to sell their product.
Price- The price of the product is a major factor that helps the business in driving customers, the
organisation must set up price according to the quality and quantity that the business is offering.
In context of Marks & Spencer, their price must be justified according to the confectionery and
snacks items they are offering as there are several competitors in the field who are willing to sell
these products.
Place- Marks & Spencer offers these confectionery and snacks items in both means that is
offline as well as online. Their products are available in the offline stores that they have set up in
the country and the customer's can easily purchase these production from the ease of their home
by ordering it on their website and application. \
Promotion- Promotion is one of the major component that contributes to the success of product
and thus the company must effectively promote their products and services. In context of Marks
& Spencer, they must come up with effective marketing techniques so that they can easily
dominate the competitive companies in the market. The marketing and promotional strategies
help the customer in understanding the idea behind the product. 74433
Strategies that help the company in improving its branding and positioning in the market
There are several strategies in the business to which the marketing manager can adopt in
in order to improve the branding and positioning of the company, few of them are discussed
below:
 Come up with ways to increase the awareness about the product and the services that the
company is offering to the customers.
 The marketing manager must work on increasing the trust and credibilty as this helps in
developing the image of the business.
 There must be use of effective techniques in order to increase the customer retention and
rate of loyalty in the business.
 The business must use techniques of referral and word of mouth to increase the number
of clients in the organisation. This puts a impressive perception on the mind of customer.

 Brand expansion is yet one of the most common technique of increase the reputation of
the brand and publicity worldwide.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that it is necessary to evaluate the internal and
external environment of the business as it directly impacts the marketing strategies and growth of
the organisation. To evaluate the business environment, there are several tools that the company
can use in the business. To analyse and evaluate the external environment of the business
organisations can use PESTLE as it helps in evaluating the factors that have ability to impact the
business. To analyse the competition in the business and the several such factors organisations
can use Porter's five forces model. There are several opportunities in the business that they need
to grab in order to make the business successful, the organisation is required to manage the
threats and weaknesses in order to make the objectives of the business achievable. Marketing
mix also helps the manager in making strategies related to specific products and market.

REFERENCES
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