Marketing Fundamental Analysis and Evaluation of Marks and Spencer

This report provides a comprehensive marketing analysis and evaluation of Marks and Spencer, a major UK-based retail company. It begins with an introduction to marketing management and its importance in business development, particularly in the context of the retail industry. The report delves into the internal environment of Marks and Spencer, utilizing SWOT and VRIO analysis to assess the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as the value, rarity, imitability, and organization of its resources. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company's operations is also considered. Furthermore, the report examines the external environment using PESTLE analysis, exploring the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors affecting Marks and Spencer. Finally, the report offers recommendations for improving the company's marketing strategies and concludes with a summary of the key findings. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and study resources for students.

Marketing
fundamental analysis
and evaluation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Internal environment analysis of Marks and Spencer.................................................................4
External environment analysis of Marks and Spencer................................................................9
RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Marketing management plays a crucial role in the development of a business entity by
selling products and services at the marketplace (Aida Azlina, 2020). In a business, it is essential
for the management to take support of marketing management in order to gain desired success at
the marketplace. It is essential for a company to develop perfect marketing strategy in order to
increase the revenue and profitability of the business firm. In this report example of Marks and
Spencer is taken into consideration which is a major retail company. The company is a
multinational giant retail company of UK which was founded in the year 1884. This report
covers the necessary dimensions and aspects of marketing in order to gain competitive advantage
at the marketplace. In this report, internal environment analysis is conducted which plays a major
role in development of the business. This report also covers macro environment analysis of a
company to lead the marketplace. In this project the effect caused by COVID-19 pandemic on
retail industry (Marks and Spencer) as is also covered in a precise manner. This project includes
the development of a business by using effective techniques of marketing in the time of
pandemic.

MAIN BODY
Internal environment analysis of Marks and Spencer
In the recent times, the importance of conducting internal environment analysis for the
long run of a business. In the COVID-19 situation it is major responsibility of a company to
conduct effective internal environment analysis in order to increase overall productivity of the
business (Ayele, 2018). The internal environment related analysis should be conducted by
professional marketing experts to develop strategy to deal with COVID-19. Internal environment
analysis of Marks and Spencer is mentioned below with the help of following models and
strategies:
SWOT analysis
The SWOT analysis is an effective approach in analysing the internal environment of the
business. It is used by many successful international and national companies to proceed at the
marketplace. SWOT analysis of Marks and Spencer to minimise impact of COVID-19 is
mentioned below:
 Strength- It is important for a business entity to be competent by possessing several
strengths which develops competitive advantage in a business. The strategic management
is the major strength of Marks and Spencer which will help the company to do effective
planning after COVID-19. The strategic management of Marks and Spencer will help the
business entity, to survive at the marketplace with major operations and their application.
Strategic management of Marks and Spencer also helps the company to formulate major
business plans for future growth and expansion. Company also has strength of market
share in retail industry of UK (3.2%) which will help it to attract large number of
customers even after the impact caused by pandemic (Market share of Marks and
Spencer,2021).
 Weaknesses- The major weakness of Marks and Spencer is its, supply chain
management which is getting weak due to lock down imposed by the government. It is
now necessary for Marks and Spencer to develop effectiveness again in the market by
rectifying weaknesses of whole supply chain management.
 Opportunities- Expansion in the global marketplace is a major opportunity available to
business entity. In order to expand the global operations in international marketplace,

there is a need for formulating a precise approach and methods (Berry, 2019). Selling
more products in the marketplace is also a type of major opportunity available to the
company. It is major role of a business to sell more products and innovative output with
desired quality to face consequences after COVID-19. Innovation is thus a major
opportunity available to a business at the marketplace which can help in introduction of
new products after COVID-19. This will help the business to seek attention of different
new customers and will also develop target customers in the marketplace.
 Threats- The competitors are also major threat for Marks and Spencer which will create
a major impact on operations of the company (Coita, 2019). The competitors and threat
from their functioning can impact on the revenue and functioning of company in the
marketplace. The Marks and Spencer should also develop precise approach at the market,
to develop competitive advantage. Major competitors of Marks and Spencer in
international market are Tesco, ASDA and Walmart which can directly impact on its
functioning.
Analysis of SWOT and ways to strengthen operations:
The above mentioned SWOT analysis will help the Marks and Spencer to formulate
major strategy at the marketplace by overcoming different challenges. In order to overcome
weaknesses, promotion of products and services should be developed in an ethical manner on
different media channels. Marks and Spencer should take assistance of information and
technology to promote products to target customers. The company should also do promotion of
products and services in order to generate desired profit in a short span of time (Micheaux,
2019). Promotion is the development of advertisement campaigns in different sectors of the
economy. The promotion campaign of Marks and Spencer should be done by professional
marketing staff to lead the marketplace in order to develop different opportunities. Also the
company should take assistance of Internet and social media to promote various products and
services post COVID-19. After the SWOT analysis, it is compulsory for a company to determine
effective place for selling the product post COVID-19 in order to gain large market share. Place
is the main location of a business, which decides the location of shops and outlets. After the
COVID-19 and its impact, the Marks and Spencer is planning to open new outlet in London and
other major cities of the world which makes it developed in the corporate world. The company

will take into consideration support of marketing management to develop major operations in a
different manner on the basis of place.
VRIO analysis
The VRIO analysis is related to resource and their utilisation in the business for
development of the company. It is the major responsibility of a company to utilise all the
resources in an optimum way to develop long term growth of the business. The VRIO analysis of
Marks and Spencer post COVID-19 is mentioned below:
Valuable Rare Imitable Organisation
The value of
resources matters the
most for a business
and the business must
calculate value of all
resources in a precise
manner. It is the main
role of a company to
also develop value in
the product to
convince target
customers. Marks and
Spencer should select
valuable resources
that are labour and
raw materials that will
help in developing
production after the
COVID-19. Valuable
resources bring
stability in functions
and tasks of the
company and also
In this approach, a
business calculates the
rareness of the
resources which are
available for
production
management. The rare
resources and their
availability in the
business develops a
good approach at the
marketplace by
conducting distinct
functions. Most of the
major companies in
marketplace develops
rare resources and
makes the copyright
in order to follow
ethical practices. The
rare resource for
Marks and Spencer
are its IT
 This is the
major phase in
VRIO
framework
which makes
resource
distinct and
there are low
chances of
similarity (de
Vries, 2019).
It is the main
task of a
company to
use imitable
resources in
order to make
their copyright
and trade mark
issues. The
company
should also
develop a
 - Organisation,
means the
ability of the
whole
company to
utilise
resources in an
optimum
manner. In this
approach, it is
major duty of
a company to
develop a good
organisational
strategy which
includes the
methods and
techniques to
use the
resources
efficiently. It
is major
function of the

help the company to
deliver best business
practices.
professionals and
Experienced
employees. The
company should
utilise rare resources
with full
accountability for
increasing
profitability.
perfect plan in
order to utilise
resources
available in a
crucial
manner. The
imitable
resources of
Marks and
Spencer are its
patent and
copyright
products like
some signature
undergarments
.
Marks and
Spencer to
develop
organisational
strength for
utilisation of
given
resources in
order to
develop
quality
products.
Marks and
Spencer
should develop
capability in
the market to
utilise
resources in a
perfect
manner.
Analysis of VRIO and different ways of improvement:
The focus of a business should be on all operations and functions in order to develop the
main competency edge. Management of Marks and Spencer should also develop effective
functioning in the marketplace by choosing right type of strategy for business development. In
this approach the internal environment of a business firm is developed with full focus and
attention on specific approaches to gain growth at marketplace. After the evaluation of VRIO
model, it is major duty of management to focus on resources in order to bring sustainability. The
companies should develop product with distinct features in product, which are also contributing

to short term success of the business (Key, 2019). In a company this internal environment
capability deals in providing a distinct advantage to a company. Most of the successful business
organisations at the marketplace maintaining differentiation in the products and services.
In order to develop precise approach at the marketplace after VRIO analysis, it is
essential for a company to develop cost leadership practices. The cost leadership is practised in
many companies to develop value in product (Jiménez-Marín, 2021). This also helps the
company to become cost effective at the marketplace and increase revenue at the marketplace.
The cost leadership is the effective method which also develops cost effective techniques at the
marketplace.

External environment analysis of Marks and Spencer
External environment analysis-
PESTLE analysis:
PESTLE analysis is an idea of marketing principles that gives identification of external
factors which affects a business organisation. This permit companies to create an opinion by
resolving all factors of PESTLE analysis that impacts new entrants or existing industries of
market (Hutt, 2020). Marks and Spencer uses PESTLE analysis to get a clear point of all macro
factors affecting its brand and business operations. Description of PESTLE analysis with context
of Marks and Spencer is being elaborated as below:
 Political: UK has a political stability in laws of trades which makes easy for every new
and existing companies in trading of its products. Political laws do not hold business of
Marks and Spencer in UK because of simplification of its political laws across states.
Marks and Spencer is benefited from stable political regulations for its trade and
operations but after implementation of Brexit in UK it has affected the uncertainty for
company. Company is more concerned with flow of its supply chain in future aspect as
firm has to shut its premises in EU which has affected its revenue generation. Also the
policies and plans to deal with COVID-19, designed by government of United Kingdom
will develop set of regulations that companies need to follow for getting stability after
Covid-19.
 Economic: Owing to COVID-19, unemployment rates have been increased in UK as
many companies has to close its premises and terminates its employees in order to save
cost. After situation got back to stable, Marks and Spencer has started hiring candidates
on hourly basis which also impacts in providing employment opportunities in UK.
 Social: Change in social cultures of peoples is increasing rapidly in UK as people there
can easily adopt new taste and makes changes in lifestyle according to their income. The
social factors like culture and beliefs of employees mainly impact on the internal
department of the company. It is major role of a company to develop social practices and
culture in order to develop effective social environment. The social needs of the
employees should be also fulfilled by the company in order to develop
 Technology: UK is one of the most developed country across world which is known for
adapting and developing new technologies for its economical operations. Innovation of

technologies and artificial intelligence in UK help Marks and Spencer Ltd to meet its
competitive targets easily and smoothly. In addition with this manufacturing of its
products by using new technologies as well as latest digital techniques for its distribution
which saves cost as well as time. The technology helps in storing big data by using
advanced software which are developed by management of Marks and Spencer. The
company will produce high quality products with deployment of advanced screening
techniques and production management IT tools
 Legal: UK has a greatly build legislature as compared to other countries which looks
after its employment sector by allotting minimum wages policies as well as consumer law
to protect consumers of the country (Hutt, 2020) This legalities affects profits of Marks
and Spencer Ltd as company cannot pay less wages to its workers comparing with wage
policies of UK. The rules formulated by local authorities of UK related to COVID-19
should be followed by Marks and Spencer in order to conduct business in ethical manner.
Legal policies related to local authorities are developed by government of a country to
majorly to develop business operations in a precise and legal manner.
 Environment: UK is a country who is more focused on its environmental awareness
which includes social corporate responsibilities to save environment. This is an advantage
to Marks and Spencer in following different organisational policies of UK government
related to environment. Company also manufacture its products by adapting friendly
techniques and producing energy saving products. The environment policy of UK which
was introduced in the year 2010 is followed by all domestic and global companies.
Analysis of the PESTLE for Marks and Spencer:
The above stated PESTLE analysis concludes that it is major duty of Marks and Spencer
to focus on developing precise strategy to deal with the external business environment. In order
to improve economic conditions, targeting is a major business art in the field of marketing which
deals in identifying main potential customers. After the impact caused by COVID-19, the
targeting of customers will develop a perfect approach in selecting various important customers
of the business. In the targeting approach, a business selects its customers and sell the products
with distinct features. Marketing management of Marks and Spencer will identify target
customers and perform their screening using different approaches to sell retails product at fast
speed after COVID-19. The PESTLE analysis also states that there is a need of segmentation

technique, which helps a business to deliver best business practices by bifurcating marketplace
into different segments which helps in effective promotion and selling the products. After the
COVID-19, Marks and Spencer company will divide its retail marketing into different parts to
provide quality services to target customers.
Porter's five forces
This model is a universally adopted approach which helps the company to grow in market
by analysing the internal environment. Most of the successful international companies has used
this strategy to compete at the marketplace after COVID-19. The Porter's five forces and its
application for Marks and Spencer is mentioned below:
 Bargaining power of buyers- The bargaining power of buyers is the capacity of buyers
to negotiate while buying products of the company (Farooq, 2019). In the case of Marks
and Spencer after COVID-19, the bargaining power of buyers is low as the company has
good market share. If there will be increase in bargaining power of buyers Marks and
Spencer, then it will reduce the profit of company. It is necessary for Marks and Spencer
to develop ethical practices for increasing bargaining power of customers to increase the
sales of company.
 Bargaining power of suppliers- Suppliers are major stakeholders in a functioning of a
company which supply raw materials to the company. The suppliers mainly function to
provide good quality raw materials to the business in a significant manner. Most of the
times, after COVID-19, a business organisation should focus on maintaining healthy
relationship with suppliers for long term growth of the company. The suppliers of Marks
and Spencer have decreased in recent times due to Brexit and COVID-19 this will
impact on the operations in a negative manner. The Marks and Spencer should focus on
logistics and supply chain management to develop
 Threat of substitutes- In the business working, it is essential for strategic and top level
management to analyse threat of substitutes to develop a competency edge. Most of the
companies which are good in marketplace analyse threat of substitutes which are there in
market. The main threat of substitutes to Marks and Spencer is from TESCO which is a
major international retail company of United Kingdom. The main job of staff of Marks
and Spencer is to identify different substitutes and develop the products and services
according to nature of marketplace. The substitute products for Marks and Spencer are

products sold by Tesco, ASDA and Walmart. The company should be aware of these
substitutes and maintain quality of products and services.
 Competitive rivalry- It is very much important for Marks and Spencer to develop a
perfect strategy that is beneficial in developing competency edge (Hubbs, 2019). The
Marks and Spencer company should develop a perfect strategy to deal with competitive
rivalry post COVID-19. Competitors in the current market of Marks and Spencer impact
on the functioning of a company in a vital manner. The main competitive rivalry at the
marketplace for Marks and Spencer is Tesco, which is giving it tough competition.
 Threat of new market entry- After the impact caused by COVID-19, there is a major
threat to Marks and Spencer of new entry. New market after COVID-19 can put the
company in trouble and demand for a major strategy and also can impact on the revenue
of Marks and Spencer. The new entries will spoil the market share of Marks and Spencer
and will also lead to create impact on its functioning at the marketplace.
Analysis of Porter's five forces model-
In order to overcome different challenges which are identified after Porter's five forces
there is a need for Marks and Spencer to follow effective process for production. The process is
referred to the whole system of product development in order to develop a good and valuable
product. Company should also follow process related to research and development by conducting
right type of market survey in the corporate world. The process should be measured with the help
of effective techniques that are crucial in developing the product life cycle. In order to eliminate
threat of new market entry after COVID-19, it is important for the company to take into
consideration effective and systematic strategy.