International Expansion of Marks and Spencer: A Business Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks and Spencer's international expansion strategy. It begins with an introduction to the company and its core business, followed by an examination of market trends and the competitive environment, including a PESTEL analysis. The report then summarizes the company's product and market focus, highlighting its current competitive advantages and the strategic marketing challenges it faces in improving its international competitive position. Furthermore, the report offers recommendations on building a sustainable competitive advantage and outlines critical implementation actions. The report concludes with a discussion of the company's future prospects and the importance of adapting to evolving market dynamics.

Assessment
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Section 1...........................................................................................................................................3
Trends in the environment and market for the sector.............................................................3
The market structure for the sector.........................................................................................3
Section 2...........................................................................................................................................5
Summary of product and market focus..................................................................................5
Basis of current competitive advantage..................................................................................6
Strategic marketing challenges the company is likely to face to improve its international
competitive position...............................................................................................................7
Section 3...........................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations on how to build sustainable competitive advantage in the future............7
Implementation actions that will be critical in building competitive advantage....................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
Marks and Spencer is a well known retailer of British that is dealing with clothing, food
and other home products. The company was founded in the year 1884 and there are more than
hundred cold chain which is selling products by the household name of marks and Spencer
within UK. This report has discussion regarding the different factors which are related with
international expansion of marks and Spencer (Casella and Formenti, 2019). It talks about the
global strategies used by the company in order to expand in different countries. There is
discussion regarding competitive advantage as well as market analysis of this company in order
to improve the international competition. In the end, There are recommendations as well as
implementation action which are critical in order to develop competitive advantage.
Section 1
Trends in the environment and market for the sector
Present strategic situation within marks and Spencer
The main reason behind success of this company is that owners of this company are
always focusing upon preferences and trends among customers before innovating their products.
Another aim of this company is to meet the customer requirements within Market by introducing
or launching some solid core capabilities. Proper market analysis is conducted before launching
any product as if there are any limitations or disadvantages of this product then company will not
have to bear those losses. There are a large number of substitute products in market today which
are making the competitive atmosphere a little bit problematic (Cateora and et. al., 2020). Hence,
it is essential for the management of marks and Spencer to analyse the whole situation properly
and conduct various strategic analysis in order to know what can be done in order to improve the
competitive advantage. Marks and Spencer has to adopt an aggressive marketing strategy for
reorganizing or recapturing the market share and enhancing its profits.
The market structure for the sector
PESTEL Analysis
Marks and Spencer is known for brand value and reputation as it is providing high quality
products and services to customer since 1884. It is essential for the company to manage the
macro environment in order to conduct effective programs for enhancing customer base. The
pestle analysis for marks and Spencer is described below
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Political factors - the different political factors that affect marks and Spencers are free
trading and Brexit. There is a positive aspect for politics in which free trading is established in
various countries for start-up. Basically marks and Spencer is a UK brand and when it has to
manufacture products in foreign countries then it has to trade that product into another country.
When there is presence of free trading then it allows this company to import various foreign
products in order to increase the sales within stores.
Economical factors – the economical factors consist of discount competitors of marks
and Spencer. price is a really big element within the retail industry (Cherunilam, 2020). There
are various decades which have been analysed and it is concluded that there are numerous
budget retailers within UK and hence it is very important for marks and Spencer to manage its
competitive advantage. this company is having great competition from budget clothing stores
and budget supermarkets. These are the new competitors which are affecting the market share of
marks and Spencer. These competitors motivate and encourage clients and customers for
enjoying same products at a lower rate than marks and Spencer.
Social factors – Social factors consist of managing various factors like non trendy and
ready meals sector. Marks and Spencer is having a well reputed name within UK and there are
approximately e more than hundred retail chains of this with them UK. This company is mainly
focusing upon youth, elder people, and kids for the products. This company has the opportunity
to introduce new and 20 retail chains and enhance the customer base every year. It is seen since
last ten years, this company is able to make more profits and sales after it has been dealing in
different sectors of the retailing industry. There are various wide scale which have been
increasing the consumption of the ready meals and foods (Chiu, 2019). It is seen that ready
meals are prepared for managing the work. Because of the massive opportunity within food
store, Marks and Spencer is seen for managing and associating in the food industry.
Technological Factors - The technological factors are associated with the managing of
different factors that are associated with the technical way for managing the work. There is need
of managing the biggest trends within the retail industry so that it is seen that in the industry
wide trend, it is silent that there is managing of retailer saving money which will be analysing the
implementing of various number of self service checkout system. In context of online shopping,
It is seen that there is big trend within the retail industry due to online shopping. This is also
important that there is need of managing the effectiveness of retail industry for achieving the
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organisational targets and goals. It is also essential to manage the functioning and business
activities of the company.
Environmental Factors - The environmental factors consist of managing the
maintaining the brand image for luxury branding. Marks and Spencer is a sustainable retailer
riches consisting of various occasions. Prices of various environmental factors which are having
acquisition of clothing, food home products (Coomber, Moyle and Mahoney, 2019). There is
need of managing the sustainable retailer which is you make and UK retailers are having
privilege for conducting the sustainable procedure. Share trading consists of managing the
initiatives and order to have compensation and foreign products for impacting the environment.
Legal Factors - The legal factors concept of laws and regulations which are given by
political and government for running within retail sector. It is essential that this company nice to
follow all the regulations in order to composition of organisational goals and objectives.
Section 2
Summary of product and market focus
Marks and Spencer is one of the leading retailers of high quality clothing, food and
household products. It offers a wide range of products in these categories like the clothing
products are offered for men, women and kids. The clothing products for women include blazers,
shirts, tops, skirts etc. While for men, the products include shirts, trousers etc. Apart from this,
the company also offers a wise range of footwear as well as accessories. The company operates
and manages different brands under its name for both men as well as women (Filimonau and
Naumova, 2020). These include a Autograph, Indigo Per Una, Classic etc. Instead of selling
international brands, the company sells
its products under its house brand. Offering a wide variety of products in different markets has
helped Marks and Spencer in attracting a greater number of customers. This has resulted in an
increase in the overall profitability as well as brand image of the company in the market. Marks
and Spencer started off as a small company and went on to become an internationally recognised
brand over the years.
Marks and Spencer is a brand that has a strong hold in the market and the reason behind
this is that it offers products that are of high quality at affordable rates. Also, the company has a
large base of customers who are loyal to it and satisfied by the services that are offered. Apart
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from operating within the clothing industry, Marks and Spencer is also known widely for its
operations within the food industry. Also, the company has a deep understanding of the needs
and expectations of its customers. Not only this, the products offered by the brand are available
easily to the customers. The company primarily focuses on two markets, i.e., food as well as
clothing. In order to expand its business operations, the company uses different market entry
methods like franchising, direct export and so on (Marks and spencers as an international
retailer, 2020). These are some of the reasons that have contributed to the overall success of the
company in domestic, regional as well as international markets.
Basis of current competitive advantage
Marks and Spencer is a brand that has not only been able to retain its loyal customers for
a long period of time, but also attract new ones. Although the company is more than a hundred
years old, it still has a competitive advantage within the markets that it operates. One of the
reasons behind this is that the quality of products that it offers is high. The company also keeps
revising its marketing strategies from time to time. And in order to formulate new and effective
strategies, Marks and Spencer analyses the market, performance of its competitors as well as
needs and expectations of the customers (Lin and et. al., 2019). This has helped them in
satisfying the needs of the customers in an effective manner and thus, gain their trust and loyalty.
The company is concerned about the local community and thus, practices corporate social
responsibility wherein it reinvests a certain amount of its profits for the welfare of the society.
The company has a large pool of qualified and experienced employees working for it.
It has been able to retain them by offering them various learning opportunities wherein
they can enhance their overall knowledge about the latest trends within the market. Various
innovative and unique strategies are adopted by the company to promote its products as well as
services in the market. Also, the company has been successful in aligning its strategies with the
ever changing demands as well as needs of the customers. Since the company has developed a
strong hold of the market over the years, it is very difficult for any new entrant to enter the
market and acquire the position of Marks and Spencer (Macharzina and Staehle, 2019). The
company offers a range of clothes that are trendy as well as fashionable. Like other companies,
Marks and Spencer also offers its clothes through online website. The strong distribution system
is also one of the reasons behind the company to gain a competitive advantage in the market.
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Strategic marketing challenges the company is likely to face to improve its international
competitive position
Although Marks and Spencer is one of the leading retailers, not only in the United
Kingdom, but all over the world. There can be global challenges that it is likely to face if it
wants to improve its overall competitive position internationally (Meredith and Shafer, 2019).
For this, the company will have to overcome these threats and utilize the different opportunities
that come its way. This is important because they will help it in attracting a greater number of
customers as well as increasing its overall profitability within the retail industry.
Strategic marketing is considered as a procedure by which a firm can able to differentiate
itself through concentrating upon their strengths to facilitates effective services as well as value
to their clients. As the company Marks & Spencer intent to improve their international
competitive position so they has to face various challenges such as enhancing competition, firm’s
restructuring, lacked of skilled personnel and many more. Some of the strategic marketing
challenges that respective company faces are discussed below:
Enhancing competition: Competition is considered as a real fact of all business life. So,
this is regarded as the biggest strategic marketing challenge. The competition is enhancing day
by day as in retail industry there are various business who are offering similar kind of product or
services (Merigó and et. al., 2019). As Marks & Spencer is developing continuously and intent to
improve their international competitive position so, it may be biggest challenges that can face.
Therefore, they has to make some strategic for overcoming from this.
Changing technology: As the technology is becoming advanced rapidly. So, this
becomes a challenge while firm such as Marks & Spencer intent to improve their international
competitive advantage. As it has to adopt various updated technology into their business and
operations, which incurs huge amount of cost and outcomes into reduction into their revenue.
Therefore, all these challenges which respective organisation has to tackle while improving
their international competitive position.
Section 3
Recommendations on how to build sustainable competitive advantage in the future
In order to build a sustainable competitive advantage in the future, Marks and Spencer
should make sure that it has a clear understanding of the market that it wants to expand its
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business in as well as its different segments. Also, it is important to identify the needs as well as
expectations of the customers in that market (Nakos, Dimitratos and Elbanna, 2019). Although
the company operates globally and has an effective knowledge of how the market operates, it is
still recommended that it develops a strategy that is primarily focused on the needs as well as
expectations of the customers within that market. The company is recommended to utilize the
resources available with it in an effective manner.
The competition within the new market should also be taken into consideration during the
planning as well as strategy development phase. This analysis should include an analysis of the
capabilities of the firm etc. In order to enter a new market, there are various different ways that
are available which can be adopted. These include franchising, licensing, joint venture, direct
export etc. Marks and Spencer can either select direct exporting or forming a joint venture
wherein it can partner up with a company and form a new organisation. This will not only bring
down that risks associated with the expansion process, but will also act as a safe entry method to
a new market. This will also ensure that the company builds a competitive position globally. For
this, Marks and Spencer is recommended to differentiate its products by adopting the
differentiation strategy (Oswald, Durham and Bates, 2019). This will involve the company
making changes in its existing products or adding new features to them etc.
These strategies will ensure that the company gains a competitive advantage against the
competitors in the future as well as attract a greater number of customers. This will lead to an
increase in the overall profitability of the firm and also, gain the trust of the customers. Lastly,
the respective company is also recommended to hire candidates who are qualified and possess a
considerable and relevant amount of experience in the industry.
Implementation actions that will be critical in building competitive advantage
In order to build a competitive advantage, there will be certain implementation actions
which will be critical for Mark and Spencer. The company will need to make certain key
decisions while developing the strategy. This includes decision regarding customers, the method
for entering the new market, improvements in business operations etc. It is important for an
organisation to have s strategy for improving overall operational processes. This is usually done
in order to enhance the efficiency of the business and attract a greater number of customers. This
can include focusing on improving the overall efficiency of the supply chain.
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Marks and Spencer can also focus on developing a new product an offering the same in
the market to the customers (Qin, 2019). This can be done by adopting various promotional
channels like social media, offering discounts etc. The products and services that will be chosen
within the portfolio will include the ones that have been previously successful in other markets
and the customers consider them to be valuable. If the company implements the
recommendations that are made to it, it will be able to gain a competitive advantage on a global
level. As a result, there will be an increase in the overall profitability as well as productivity of
the firm.
The resource allocation should be done in an efficient way so that any kind of
unnecessary costs can be minimised or eliminated. In order to build a competitive advantage, the
company will require to implement the latest technology within its system. This can include
artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Lastly, hiring qualified people will help the company in
understanding the new market effectively and as a result, address the needs of the customers in
an enhanced manner (Reid and Sanders, 2019). The new hires must also be provided relevant
training so that they develop new skills and acquire an understanding of the different business
processes within the company. This will also allow the company to grow and build a strong
position in the market.
CONCLUSION
M&S was fruitful in item range and quality previously; in this manner, they disregarded
the adjustments in nature, for example, expanding rivalry, changes in client tastes, etc. Thus, they
remain 'sit idle' system without putting resources into item development, natural observing or
advertising, which prompted the diminishing in benefits in 1998. It is essential for managing the
work effectively.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
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footprints. Casella, B. and Formenti, L.(2018). FDI in the digital economy: a shift to
asset-light international footprints. Transnational corporations. 25(1). pp.101-130.
Cateora, P. R. and et. al., 2020. International marketing. McGraw-Hill Education.
Cherunilam, F., 2020. International business. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Chiu, S. W., 2019. Promoting international co-operation in the age of global space governance–
A study on on-orbit servicing operations. Acta Astronautica. 161. pp.375-381.
Coomber, R., Moyle, L. and Mahoney, M. K., 2019. Symbolic policing: situating targeted police
operations/‘crackdowns’ on street-level drug markets. Policing and society. 29(1). pp.1-
17.
Filimonau, V. and Naumova, E., 2020. The blockchain technology and the scope of its
application in hospitality operations. International Journal of Hospitality Management.
87. p.102383.
Lin, B. and et. al., 2019. Liquid air energy storage: Price arbitrage operations and sizing
optimization in the GB real-time electricity market. Energy Economics. 78. pp.647-655.
Macharzina, K. and Staehle, W. H. Eds., 2019. European approaches to international
management. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Meredith, J. R. and Shafer, S. M., 2019. Operations and supply chain management for MBAs.
John Wiley & Sons.
Merigó, J. M. and et. al., 2019. Research in production and operations management: A
university-based bibliometric analysis. Global Journal of Flexible Systems
Management. 20(1). pp.1-29.
Nakos, G., Dimitratos, P. and Elbanna, S., 2019. The mediating role of alliances in the
international market orientation-performance relationship of smes. International
Business Review. 28(3). pp.603-612.
Oswald, B., Durham, H. and Bates, A., 2019. Documents on the law of UN peace operations.
Oxford University Press, USA.
Qin, Z., 2019. Disruption and strategic outsourcing to the competitor in the common market.
International Journal of Operations Research and Information Systems (IJORIS). 10(1).
pp.1-20.
Reid, R. D. and Sanders, N. R., 2019. Operations management: an integrated approach. John
Wiley & Sons.
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