Strategic Analysis of Marks & Spencer: Business Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of Marks & Spencer's business strategy. It begins with an introduction to business strategy and then proceeds to analyze the macro-environment using PESTLE analysis, evaluating political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors influencing the company. The internal environment and capabilities are then assessed through a SWOT analysis and VRIO analysis to determine the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as its valuable, rare, inimitable, and organizationally supported resources. The report then applies Porter's Five Forces model to assess the competitive landscape, including the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, the threat of new entrants and substitutes, and the rivalry among existing firms. Finally, the report applies various theories, concepts, and models, including the Ansoff matrix, to devise a strategic plan for Marks & Spencer, focusing on market penetration. The report concludes with a strategic plan outlining the company's vision and mission.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
LO1.............................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Analyse impact and influence of macro environment on a given organisation...................................3
LO2.............................................................................................................................................................4
P2 Analyse internal environment and capabilities of given organisation.................................................4
LO3.............................................................................................................................................................6
P3 Applying porter’s five forces model...................................................................................................6
LO4.............................................................................................................................................................7
P4 Applying range of theories, concepts and models interpret and devise strategic planning.................7
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy refers to a process of planning as per the set vision for achieving the
overall objectives of the firm. This report is based on the Marks & Spenser that is one of the
largest multinational retail stores in the UK. This report involves the analysis of external and
internal factors that is helpful in knowing the abilities and capabilities of doing a business as per
the market demands. It also involves the porters five forces model that helps in gaining the
competitive advantage in the market. At last it involves the strategic plan that is based on the
Ansoff matrix to that helps in showing the growth of the market(Akter and et. al., 2016).
LO1
P1 Analyse impact and influence of macro environment on a given organisation
Macro environment refers to the framework that exist the economy as a whole. it includes
various terms like spending, monetary and fiscal policy. In terms of Marks & Spenser manager
analyse the macro environment by using PESTLE analysis that can be shown below(Higgins,
Omer and Phillips, 2015).
 Political – It includes the tax rates, tariff rates and the stability of the government in the
country. in this the political condition of the UK is stable due to this tax rates that the
government was imposed is less because of this fact it is very beneficial for the Marks &
Spenser to run their business. This contains the opportunity for the business(Thompson,
Strickland and Gamble, 2015).
 Economical - It involves the GDP, growth rate, inflation rate, buying power of the
people etc. in context of Marks & Spenser the people of UK is earn high level of income
and due to this they are capable of buying the products of the company and it is the
opportunity for the firm. due to high inflation rate present in the country this will
negatively impact the Marks & Spenser business because of they buy the raw material on
high cost due to this cost of production is high and profit margin is low.
 Social – This factor includes the values, beliefs, customs, and behavior of an individual
people in the society. in this people of UK is very open minded due to which they opt the
modern and modified products due to this Marks & Spenser can take advantage of it as
they sales high quality products and the modern goods to enhance their sales in the

marketplace. This place and great opportunity for the firm to increase the sales and
profits.
 Technological – It refers to the effective factor as per the current demand of the business
environment. In this people are using advanced technology on daily basis to fulfill their
needs and wants. Due to this Marks & Spenser can use the advanced technology to
promote their products and alspo need to update their producing goods and services so
that they can get attracted large base of the customers. Using advanced technology is an
opportunity for the firm but their large investment makes a threat to the
organisation(Buckley and Ghauri, 2015).
 Legal – This factor includes the laws and regulations that were imposed by the
government of the country. in this government of UK can make a law for customers and
employees safety that every company can follow to earn the profits. In this Marks &
Spenser can use the equal pay and safety law to their employees where they pay on their
ability of work and provide a healthy environment so the task can be completed on time.
 Environmental – This factor linked to the nature of the country where the business can
be operating. In this Marks & Spenser can follow the proper rules of safe the environment
from the hazardous aspects. This will helps in attracting the large number of customers
and gaining the advantage of longer sustainability in the marketplace.
LO2
P2 Analyse internal environment and capabilities of given organisation
SWOT Analysis
It refers to that framework that is helpful for the Marks & Spenser manager to analyse
their internal strength and weakness so that they earns a high amount of revenues. This can be
shown below(Eaton and Kilby, 2015).
Strength Weaknesses
The main strength of Marks & Spenser is that
it has strong brand recognition because of
offering the high quality products in the
the major weakness for the Marks & Spenser is
that they use the old techniques in production
of goods and services due to which the cost is

market. therefore, it contains the various
product range due to which customers get
attracted such as kids wear, home ware, foods,
men’s wear etc.
high as compare to the competitors due to this
customers can switch towards the another
organisation.
Opportunities Threats
In this the main opportunity for the firm is that
they use the advanced technology in their
production and distribution process. And also
they think to expand their market in the Asian
and African countries which helps in earning
high amount of profits.
The major threats is the competitors firm that is
H&M, ZARA that give the tough competition
to the business and because of changing
political condition also affect the business
operation in a international market.
VRIO analysis refers to that framework that helps in knowing the capability and ability of the
business resources to earn a high amount of profits. For Marks & Spenser, manager use this
analysis that helps in showing the various aspects to earn and gains the market share. It can be
shown below(Yuliansyah, Rammal and Rose, 2016).
 Valuable – It refers to that resources that gives the company a high amount of profits. in
this manager of Marks & Spenser can ensure that they use the valuable resources in their
working place so that can gain the competition in the marketplace. in this the valuable
resources is employees, financial resource and their supply chain management due to
which they earns a high amount of profits.
 Rare – It shows that resources which are rare so that company can attract the large
amount of customers. In context of the Marks & Spenser company can follow the rare
machines in their production of goods and services this will helps in earning the high
profits and revenues.
 Imitate- It refers to that aspects which shows that products and resources that cannot
copy by other firms. In context of the Marks & Spenser financial resources, producing
goods and services are shown as an rare resources that can helps in gaining the
competitive advantage in the market.

 Organisation – It refers to those aspects which show that in what ways a firm can
organized their resource to earn a high market share. In context of the Marks & Spenser
manager need to organize all their resources like financial resource, employees, suppliers
so that they can earn a high amount of profits and gain the market share.
LO3
P3 Applying porter’s five forces model
Porter’s five forces model
It refers to that activity that is helpful for the Marks & Spenser to know their future results as
well as their current rivalries. It includes five aspects that can be explained below(Hart, Sharma
and Halme, 2016).
 Bargaining power of the buyer – The bargaining power of the customers are high in
this retail and food sector due to which if Marks & Spenser charge a high price than the
consumers can shift from the another organisation this will affect the revenues. But if
they charge low price than they attract the large number of people and gain their profits.
 Bargaining power of the suppliers- In this aspects there are many business firm in the
retail and the food sector due to which bargaining power of the suppliers is high. In this if
the rival firms can pay more amounts for purchasing the raw material than the suppliers
cannot delivers to Marks & Spenser all the products in less amount due to which profits
of the firm may affect.
 Threat of new entrants – In this aspects the threats of the new entrant is not much high
for the Marks & Spenser because they will operate on the large basis and on the global
level. So for the new firm it is not possible to beat the concerned company profits,
customers’ loyalty and the market share(Chen, Eshleman and Soileau, 2017).
 Threats of a substitutes- In this the Marks & Spenser cannot face the issue related to the
threat of substitutes because they is generally no substitute for the cloths and due to this
they can earns a high amount of profits and revenues. It also helps in attracting the large
customer base.
 Rivalry for a firm- It aspect is more complex for the Marks & Spenser as they contains
more competitors in the markets like H& M, ZARA etc. In this concerned company can

set their price as per the competitor’s price so that they will not their customers and also
gain the market share that is important for the longer sustainability of the firm.
LO4
P4 Applying range of theories, concepts and models interpret and devise strategic planning
Ansoff strategy
This matrix was proposed by the H. Igor Ansoff that is also called the growth strategy. It
helps Marks & Spenser to select the right strategy for growth. It includes four quadrants that can
be shown below(Mellat-Parast and et. al., 2015).
 Product development – This strategy shows that the firm offers the new and innovative
products to their customers in the existing market. This helps in gaining the customer
base and also make new customers in the current market this helps the Marks & Spenser
to enhance their sales and profits and also the longer sustainability in the market place.
 Market penetration – It refers to that strategy where Marks & Spenser can offers the
products on the low price and also provides various offers to attract the customers and
gain the market share. It is the less risky strategy that a company y can follow. This helps
in attracting the new customers and retains the old customers within the company.
 Market development – In this strategy concerned company can offers their current
products in the new market to increase their market and enhance the customer base. This
helps in earning more and more profits by attracting the new customers in the new
market.
 Diversification – It refers to that strategy where respected company can focus on entry
into the new market with new product. This is very risky strategy that also reduces the
sales. But if the customers like the products they earn a high amount of profits and
revenues and also enhance their market share.
As per the above discussion Marks & Spenser can adopts the market penetration strategy in
which they sell their products in the low price in current market. This helps in earning the high
revenues and market share without spending on the innovation and research and development.
This strategy is less risky to gain the large market share without large investments.

Strategic plan refers to the documentation to set the direction for the growth of the business
units. In this manager of the Marks & Spenser can make a plan to gain the competition and earns
a high amount of profits in the market. it can be shown below(Habib and Hasan, 2017).
Vision
The vision of the company is to become a world famous company so that other national
and global business enterprises can measure and analyse their performance.
Mission
The mission of Marks & Spenser is to gain the large number of customers by offering
them a quality of products and services. so that more new customers can also get attracted.
Strategies
The strategy that a Marks & Spenser can adopt is market penetration strategy where they
attracts the large customer’s base and earns a high amount of profits. This strategy is fruitful to
gain the market share and longer sustainability in the market place.
Objectives
The main objective of the Marks & Spenser is to enhance their sales by 15% and profits
by 20%. So that company can lead the market on international level.
Tactics
In this manager of Marks & Spenser can make a plan on a short term basis to gain the
market by providing various offers, deals and low price on the quality products. It helps in
attracting the large number of customer base. This helps in gaining the large market and also
helps in gaining the competitive advantage in the short period of time. in this they need to
promote their offers on social media which is latest and trending tool to attract the large customer
base(Malerba and et. al., 2015).
Implementation and evaluation

It is very essential to implement and evaluate the plan after developing it. in this manager
of the Marks & Spenser can focus on the promotional strategy for this they take corrective
actions. After implementing the strategy it is very significant to evaluate the whole performance
and if they find any issue take the proper actions and resolve it. This helps in successful
implementing the plan for gaining the large amount of profits.
CONCLUSION
From the above analysis it is to be concluded that the business strategy is an prominent
term that helps in analyzing the business environment to gain the competition in the market
place. in this company can use PESTLE, SWOT & VRIO analysis to know the external and
internal capabilities of the firm. it also helps in showing the porters five forces model that helps
in gaining the competition and earns high amount of profit. in this to know the growth in the
market company can use Ansoff matrix that helps in making and developing the strategic plan
that is very important to stay in the market and earns a high amount of profits.

REFERENCES
Books & Journal
Akter, S. and et. al., 2016. How to improve firm performance using big data analytics capability
and business strategy alignment?. International Journal of Production Economics. 182.
pp.113-131.
Buckley, P.J. and Ghauri, P. eds., 2015. International business strategy: theory and practice.
Routledge.
Chen, Y., Eshleman, J.D. and Soileau, J.S., 2017. Business strategy and auditor
reporting. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. 36(2). pp.63-86.
Eaton, D. and Kilby, G., 2015. Does Your Organizational Culture Support Your Business
Strategy?. The Journal for Quality and Participation. 37(4). p.4.
Habib, A. and Hasan, M.M., 2017. Business strategy, overvalued equities, and stock price crash
risk. Research in International Business and Finance. 39. pp.389-405.
Hart, S., Sharma, S. and Halme, M., 2016. Poverty, business strategy, and sustainable
development.
Higgins, D., Omer, T.C. and Phillips, J.D., 2015. The influence of a firm's business strategy on
its tax aggressiveness. Contemporary Accounting Research. 32(2). pp.674-702.
Malerba, F. and et. al., 2015. Dynamics of knowledge intensive entrepreneurship: Business
strategy and public policy. Routledge.
Mellat-Parast, M. and et. al., 2015. Linking business strategy to service failures and financial
performance: Empirical evidence from the US domestic airline industry. Journal of
Operations Management. 38. pp.14-24.
Thompson, A., Strickland, A.J. and Gamble, J., 2015. Crafting and executing strategy: Concepts
and readings. McGraw-Hill Education.
Yuliansyah, Y., Rammal, H.G. and Rose, E., 2016. Business strategy and performance in
Indonesia’s service sector. Journal of Asia Business Studies.