FY021: Introduction to Business Studies - M&S Analysis Report

This report presents an analysis of Marks and Spencer (M&S), a UK-based international retailer, focusing on its internal and external environments. The report employs the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) frameworks to evaluate M&S's strategic position. The SWOT analysis identifies M&S's cost advantages and product differentiation as strengths, while acknowledging potential weaknesses related to market competition and imitation. Opportunities include market expansion, and threats include cost pressures and competition. The PESTLE analysis examines the impact of political factors like international laws, economic factors such as inflation, social factors like consumer behavior, technological advancements, legal regulations, and environmental policies. The report concludes by emphasizing the effectiveness of M&S's implemented strategies and their contribution to achieving organizational goals, supported by relevant references.

INTRODUCTION TO
BUSINESS STUDIES
MARKS AND SPENCER

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 INTERNAL ANALYSIS (SWOT)
 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS (PESTLE)
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION
 Both internal and external environment are important for the decision making of any firm
and for better decisions as well.
 Marks and Spencer Group being a international retailer based in UK has the product range
involving clothing, home products and food products, mostly with its own label.
 This presentation will evaluate internal and external environment for the selected
company’s context.

SWOT ANALYSIS
 SWOT analysis of any company
deals with how the company is
able to categorize aspects related
strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. A
profound analysis is as follows:
 Strengths
 Weaknesses
 Opportunity
 Threats

CONT.
STRENGTHS:
 The first component of SWOT analysis, strength is something that will be an advantage for any company to be
able to stand in the competition.
 There are two points of consideration as a strength in SWOT analysis of a company. One is the Cost advantage,
where the cost of the products of the company is such that the competitors cannot compete. The second is
differentiation, where the company differentiates its products so perfectly that becomes the consumers priority.
WEAKNESSES:
 Sometimes when the company is not able to modify its minimal changes that might lead to its downfall.
 If these weaknesses are observed at regular intervals those will add strength to the. Marks and Spencer being
the retailer and there is a greater demand for the retailers in the marketing world, the firm will have to face a
huge competition.
 Marks and Spencer being a popular brand they must be able to protect it by not letting fake margins to imitate
it.

CONT.
OPPORTUNITIES:
 Opportunities in SWOT analysis is nothing but
the chances that are put forth for any company
to choose for its upliftment.
 There numerous ways in which a firm can
make profits or increase its shares. In the pace
of choosing opportunities lies its advantages
and disadvantages.
 Before taking a step ahead it is better to look at
all the possibilities for the company in the eye
of being successful. They can at instances
launch new market segments and make profits.
THREATS:
 A perfect SWOT analysis is the one that
include threats.
 Threats are the negative external factors that
act as a barrier to the company’s growth.
Marketing world being immense, there is a
scope for a wide range of negativity.
 The major threats to any company are linked to
cost, labour and competition.

PESTLE ANALYSIS
 PESTLE Analysis is an efficient analytical tool for a strategic business planning. They even tend
to have long term effect over an organisation.
 PESTLE stands for "Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental" and
is employed for business and strategic planning, marketing planning, organizational change,
business and product development and research reports.
 Political
 Economic
 Social
 Technological
 Legal
 Environmental

CONT.
POLITICAL FACTORS:
 The political factors are the external factors that are associated with the country’s government and its
laws. Marks & Spencer being the famous brand and is spread through around 40 countries with
headquarters in UK. Being able to operate into s many countries it will face different laws and restrictions
around.
 Marks & Spencer can use the EU market such that its products can travel around the globe free of cost a
limitation of taxes.
ECONOMIC FACTORS:
 Economic factors are those that are related with the rise and fall of economy. The rise in inflation rate of
any economy with eventually effect the company.
 This effect will fall upon the prices of the product or a particular service. United Kingdom being the
largest economy in the world properly manages its fiscal and monetary policies and maintains low
inflation rate.

CONT.
SOCIAL FACTORS:
 Social factors are those that are related to the surroundings.
 The customer purchases depend upon the cultural, social, personal and psychological changes in the market.
 The clothing firm depends mainly on the locality and demographic. Some retailers in UK avoid storing
stock for over a long time.
 They produce limited stuff with perfect quality that suits the conditions of customers.
TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS:
 Technological factors are related to the transformation programme.
 The company Marks and Spencer became the first digital company serving the best products that reach
customer satisfaction.
 The faster technology employed enables its users to purchase in no time.

CONT.
LEGAL FACTORS:
 The legislations are common components in every country. They keep changing at every instance.
 Marks & Spencer stay updated with the then laws and legislations of the country by conducting
training sessions that include health updates every single year.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:
 Marks & Spencer have their establishment in their own Green Policy which they now consider as
“Plan A”. It is a step adopted by the firm to develop a positive impact on the wellbeing,
communities and on the planet.
 They work closely with the initiatives and develop practices to support sustainability.

CONCLUSION
 SWOT analysis was used to examine internal environment and PESTLE was used for the
external environment.
 Clearly, the presentation indicated the strategies that M&S has implemented for better
achievement of organizational goals and policies are very effective and well formulated.

REFERENCES
 Kardes, I., Flynn and et.al., 2020. Online retailing: determinants of competition between
multinationals and local firms in emerging markets. International Journal of Retail &
Distribution Management.
 Nandonde, F.A., 2019. A PESTLE analysis of international retailing in the East African
Community. Global Business and Organizational Excellence .38(4). pp.54-61.
 Sarsby, A., 2016. SWOT analysis. Lulu. com.
 SWOT Analysis. [ONLINE] available through: < https://www.swotanalysis.com>