BM561 Business Consulting Report: Analyzing Marks & Spencer's Issues

This report analyzes the business challenges faced by Marks and Spencer (M&S), a major British multinational retailer. It begins by identifying M&S's core issues, particularly its struggles with investment in retail stores and the effectiveness of its online strategy. The report then critically examines the competitive landscape, target customer market, and external factors influencing M&S's performance, including a PESTEL analysis. Key competitors like H&M, Gucci, and Prada are considered. The report highlights three major issues: insufficient investment in stores, the failure of the online strategy to drive growth, and poor decision-making. The report concludes by summarizing the findings and emphasizing the need for M&S to address these challenges to maintain its market position and achieve customer satisfaction. The report uses academic theory and company research to support its analysis.

Business Consulting
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Table of contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
1. Clarify who your client is and what is and what is the problem they are facing.....................3
2. Critically analyze and present areas of importance to the client such as competitors, target
customer market and influencing factors from the external environment...................................4
3. What are the top three issues that the client is facing..............................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
The purpose of report is to analyze what are issues which Marks and Spencer is facing on
large scale. Along with this, report will analyze the competitors, target market customer and
external environment.
Problems which Marks and Spencer is that the company is facing issues like investment is
less for the retail stores, the online strategy is also not effective enough to grab the target
customers attention (Leite, 2020).
By consulting and proper communication company can solve the major issues which they
are facing and by discussing matters on small grounds Marks and Spencer will be able to solve
the problem effectively.
MAIN BODY
1. Clarify who your client is and what is and what is the problem they are facing
 Client 1 –
- Background of the Client - The client is Marks and Spencer, major British multinational
retailer which specializes in selling clothes, home products, and food products. The company
provides the essentials which the customers are in requirement of. It basically fulfils the needs
and provides the facilities which the company is seeking to provide to the customers.
- Client Problem - But there are many issues and problems which the organization or the
company is facing on large scale. The main issue which the company is facing is it is unable to
invest more in the stores and this has created problem for the stores which are already build on
the scale of providing the customers the products and services on large scale. The review of
customers is that the company is not providing and engaging in the activity which makes the
brand along with its products and services more attractive (Scott and et.al., 2017). And this is the
main issue which has been arisen from the customers’ side and through the base of what are the
basic requirements which are to be fulfilled. Thus, this is the main issue which the Marks and
Spencer is facing and this should be improved by the company which helps in initiating the
growth and development on large scale effectively. Marks and Spencer although provides the
services and products to the customers but on the other hand the company is also facing some
issues among which one of the major issues is that the company is facing problem with the
online strategy which it has framed for the customers and the individuals so that they can incur
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the services and the products through online channels and this has created much problem for the
customers as well as for the company because of the strategy that has failed to serve the best to
the customers on large scale. The online strategy which the company has framed is degrading its
value on the loss scale (Taylor, 2019). There is a threat from the other online retailers which is
affecting Marks and Spencer’s online strategy which the company has formulated on the large
scale to fulfil needs and requirements of the customers. Therefore, this is major issue which
company is facing that is online strategy which should help the customers so that they are able to
utilize the products and services as per their satisfaction. But on the contrary, both the issues
which are the online strategy failure and least investment more in the stores is how the company
is being affected. This should be not be the case of the company.
2. Critically analyze and present areas of importance to the client such as competitors, target
customer market and influencing factors from the external environment
Industry Analysis – Importance to the client such as competitors, target customer market and
influencing factors from the external environment affects the company’s performance and the
overall functioning of the company. Industry analysis is done on the basis of the scales such as –
Competitors – Marks and Spencer has various competitors in the market which create tough
competition in the retail industry on large scale. The various competitors such as H&M, Gucci,
Prada etc are the enormous competitors who are there in the market competing with the Marks
and Spencer company (Stedman, 2019). The competitors play an important role to the client
which is Marks and Spencer company and so that the company is engaged in creating more ways
through which the promotion and branding of the company is done effectively and efficiently.
The competitors help the company in analyzing the external market structure and the
environment which helps the business of the Marks and Spencer encourage more so that the
company is able to compete with the other companies in the market on large scale.
Target Customer Market – Target customer market defines how the customers provide review
towards the products and services which the Marks and Spencer provides and caters in the
market to the customers. Marks and Spencer focuses on the target customers in the market so
that the company is able to analyze what are requirements and needs of the customers in market
and how to make effective and efficient scales through which the company is able to deliver the
purpose through which the customers are satisfied by acquiring the services and the products
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which the company is delivering to target customers in market. The main aim of Marks and
Spencer is to how company is able to make effective market strategies to continue the retail
business.
PESTEL Analysis –
Political – Marks and Spencer has free trade policy which has initiated process through which
company is able to trade between different other countries other than UK.
Economic – Marks and Spencer is shifting its scale of expansion towards smaller retail stores
which helps company in analyzing economic basis towards growth.
Social – The company is providing ready meals to customers as per their requirements as social
factor by serving customers effectively (Choudhary and et.al., 2020).
Technology – Marks and Spencer through technology factor has introduced multiple self –
checkout stores and plan to function usage of AI based checkout in future.
Environmental - Marks and Spencer has promoted concept of sustainable retail industry for
multiple occasions for sake of customers.
Legal – The legal factors are major factors for company to consider on scale of what are rules
and legislations which company has to follow.
3. What are the top three issues that the client is facing
The top three issues which the client Marks and Spencer is facing is –
 The company is unable to invest more in the stores.
 The online strategies which the company has framed or initiated fail to incur the growth
and development in the business.
 The company also often makes bad decisions which hamper the scale of increase in the
business on the large scale (Falen, 2020).
Thus, these are the major issues which Marks and Spencer is facing and through this whole of
the business and the company processes and procedures are being affected on large scale. the
main thing and the problem which are these and the company through this is facing the issues of
surviving in the market and competing with the competitors which pushes the boundaries of the
business so that Marks and Spencer is able to analyze the target market and on that basis the
company is able to identify the target market customers so that the basic requirements and the
needs of the customers is also fulfilled on that basis. The issues which the company is facing
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should be solved so that there are no downfalls and negative brand image in the market and
through this there are no other demonstrations or the functions which ignite the problem or
hamper the business on its financial scales of business. Therefore, these issues and the problems
which the company is facing should be solved so that there is smooth functioning of all the
processes which helps in creating the business standards high and through that the basic form of
the business which is the growth of the brand and the customer satisfaction is also achieved
(Bernardes and et.al., 2020). Marks and Spencer will seek growth when the company is able to
measure and analyze the scales on which the growth aspects are effective and that the company
manages and solves the problems which initiates growth and development so that the motto of
target customers in the target market is achieved and through this the brand name is also
achieved which helps in initiating what the basis through which the expansion of retail business
can be done on large scale. Along with this, various strategies should be framed and formulated
effectively and efficiently so that the company Marks and Spencer is able to initiate the steps
which are to be followed on the scale or basis through which everything runs smoothly and in
significant manner. Thus, there are issues and problems which Marks and Spencer is facing but
these issues and problems should be solved so that there are no future adjustments for the
company.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded from the above report that who was the client and what issues the
client was facing on large scale. Critical analysis and presentation areas of importance to the
client including competitors, target customer market and influencing factors from the external
environment was analyzed in detail. Along with this, the top three issues which the client faced
was also discussed and evaluated in detail.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Leite, B.T.D.S., 2020. Marks & spencer out of fashion the case of an outdated brick and
mortar (Doctoral dissertation).
Scott, P. and et.al., 2017. Barriers to ‘industrialisation’for interwar British retailing? The case of
Marks & Spencer Ltd. Business History.59(2).pp.179-201.
Taylor, A., 2019. An exploratory study of the relationship between job insecurity and employee
engagement focusing on temporary employees in the retailing industry in the United
Kingdom| Case study: Marks and Spencer Group plc.
Stedman, M., 2019. Balancing Trade Mark Protection with the Interests of Consumers and
Competitors. ELSA Spain Law Review,.
Choudhary, B. and et.al., 2020. Case Study–Strategy 2020 for M&S.
Falen, D.J., 2020, October. Introduction: Facing the Other. In Anthropological Forum (Vol. 30,
No. 4, pp. 321-340). Routledge.
Bernardes, J.P. and et.al., 2020, May. Consumers’ clothing disposal behaviour: Where should we
go?. In Textiles, Identity and Innovation: In Touch: Proceedings of the 2nd
International Textile Design Conference (D_TEX 2019), June 19-21, 2019, Lisbon,
Portugal (p. 198). CRC Press.
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