MCOM4040 - Business Management in Marks & Spencer Report Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business management within Marks & Spencer. It begins by differentiating between customer needs, wants, and demands, specifically in the context of M&S's diverse product offerings, including food, clothing, and luxury items. The report then delves into the marketing environment, starting with a situation analysis that examines both internal and external factors, followed by an exploration of the micro-environment, including key competitors like Tesco and Aldi. The strengths and weaknesses of M&S's internal environment are also assessed. Finally, the report examines M&S's marketing mix, detailing the 4 Ps (product, place, price, and promotion) and their strategic implementation. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and implications of the analysis, highlighting M&S's position within the competitive retail landscape and its strategic approaches to meet consumer demands. The report is based on the MCOM4040 coursework brief, aiming to meet the learning outcomes of the module.

Running head: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN MARKS & SPENCER
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN MARKS & SPENCER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Purpose of the report..................................................................................................2
Overview of Marks & Spencer..................................................................................2
Task 1 – Needs, wants and demands..............................................................................2
a. Difference between needs and wants.....................................................................2
b. Needs, wants and demands of Marks & Spencer customers..................................3
Task 2 – Marketing environment...................................................................................3
a. Description of situation analysis............................................................................3
b. Micro environment of Marks & Spencer...............................................................4
c. Strengths and weaknesses of internal environment based factors..........................5
Task 3 – Marketing Mix.................................................................................................6
a. 4 Ps of marketing mix of Marks & Spencer...........................................................6
Conclusion......................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Purpose of the report
The report will be based on the analysis of demands and the needs of employees who
are a part of a multinational organization. The marketing mix based elements of the
organization will also be a major part of the discussion that will be made in the report. The
organization that has been considered for this analysis is Marks & Spencer’s. The
multinational organization has its operations in different countries of the world and also has a
major customer base. The customer base of this organization can be considered for analysing
the differences that are present between their needs and demands with respect to the products
that are offered by Marks & Spencer (Arora, Arora and Sivakumar 2016).
Overview of Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer plc is major multinational retailer of British origin that is
headquartered in Westminster, London. The organization mainly specialises in the sales of
clothes, luxury food based products and the home products. M&S was established in the year
1884 by Thomas Spencer and Michael Marks. The organization had also started selling
different types of branded goods like, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in the year 2008. Currently
M&S operates more than 900 stores in different areas of the United Kingdom which includes
around 615 stores that only sell food based products (Marksandspencer.com 2019).
Task 1 – Needs, wants and demands
a. Difference between needs and wants
The needs and wants of customers are mainly based on different factors that are based
on their survival. Needs can be those factors that are required for the survival of individuals.
On the contrary, wants are those factors that are considered to be effective, however, they are

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not necessary for the survival of individuals (Chaffey and Smith 2017). The difference
between needs and wants have to be considered in order to make effective investments. The
individuals thereby need to take care of the levels of investments that they wish to make in
the needs which are highly essential and their wants that can be avoided (Blakeman 2018).
b. Needs, wants and demands of Marks & Spencer customers
Marks & Spencer has its operations in different departments that include, food,
clothing and different retail businesses as well. The own-brand based model of Marks &
Spencer has been implemented in order to operate in the market. The needs of customers of
the organization are mainly based on the food based products that are able to provide great
value and help in their survival as well (Gillespie and Riddle 2015). On the other hand, the
clothing based products are considered to be an important part of the demands that customers
have from the organization. The luxury products that are developed under the private label of
Marks & Spencer are important factors that can be considered to be their wants (French and
Gordon 2015). The purchase of luxury products is thereby not necessary for the customers in
order to survive. The organization will be able to maintain its operations in the highly
competitive industry if the needs, wants and the demands of consumers can be fulfilled in an
effective manner. Marks & Spencer needs to create a product portfolio that is suitable for
proper fulfilment of different levels of needs of the consumers in the industry. The needs,
demands and wants of the customers are highly important for the operations and success of
the organization in the industry (Cross, Belich and Rudelius 2015).
Task 2 – Marketing environment
a. Description of situation analysis
Situation analysis can be defined as the collection of diverse processes that are
implemented by the managers in order to analyse the internal and the external environment of

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a company in order to understand the competences, business environment and the customers
of an organization. Different types of methods that are implemented for the purpose of
conducting effective situational analysis are, SWOT framework, 5 Cs analysis and Porter’s
five forces (Goldberg, Fishbein and Middlestadt 2018). Marketing plans are also developed
by organizations in order to conduct the future operations in a successful manner. Situational
analysis can also be considered to be the second step that is implemented as a part of proper
marketing plan that is formed by the organizations.
The development of appropriate marketing strategies is considered to be a major part
of the situational analysis process that has been implemented in Marks & Spencer. The
organization needs to implement different process that are a part of proper situational analysis
in order to formulate strategies that can be implemented in specific areas (Jackson and Ahuja
2016). The requirement of proper situational analysis is mainly based on the expansion based
operations that are performed by the organization. Marks & Spencer needs to examine the
external environment based factors in order to decide the strategies that it wishes to
implement in the new area of its operations. The situational analysis will thereby act as a
guide to the organization in the proper formation of strategies (McDonald and Wilson 2016).
b. Micro environment of Marks & Spencer
The micro environment of Marks & Spencer is considered to be an important factor
that is able to affect the ways by which the organization can operate in the industry. The five
major industry based forces have an impact on the strategies that are developed by Marks &
Spencer. The forces that affect Marks & Spencer include, threats related to the new entrants,
threats based on the substitute products, bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of
the suppliers and intensity of the competitive rivalry. These forces have an impact on the
ways by which Marks & Spencer develops its strategies in order to maintain its operations in
the competitive retail industry (Shams 2016).

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The two key competitors of Marks & Spencer in the industry are Tesco and Aldi. The
organizations provide products and services that are similar to those which are offered by
Marks & Spencer. The organizations have provided major competition to Marks & Spencer
based on the product portfolio that has been developed. The revenues that have been gained
by Marks & Spencer in retail industry are around 10.7 Billion Dollars (Marksandspencer.com
2019). On the other hand, total revenues that have been earned by Tesco is around 57.5
Billion Euros and that of Aldi is 10.2 Billion Euros. Tesco has gained the topmost position in
the retail industry of UK. The revenues earned by Tesco are therefore the highest. However,
the revenues earned by Aldi are lower than that of Marks & Spencer (Sigalas 2015).
The products and services that are offered by Tesco have been able to fulfil the needs
and demands of the customers and the company has gained a leadership position in the
market as well. This is considered to be a major factor that has increased the brand value of
the organization in the retail industry. The value of the brand of Tesco is able to affect the
ways by which operations of Marks & Spencer and its revenues can be affected. The
awareness levels based on the brand of Tesco are also higher in comparison to Marks &
Spencer. These factors have an immense effect on the operations of the organization in the
retail industry (Verma, Sharma and Sheth 2016).
c. Strengths and weaknesses of internal environment based factors
The internal environment factors have an impact on the revenues that have been
gained by Marks & Spencer in the UK retail industry. The organization needs to analyse the
internal environment in order to develop strategies that are based on its future operations.
Strengths – Marks & Spencer plc has developed its brand name in the retail industry
with the help of high levels of presence. The international expansion of the organization is
mainly based on the ways by which it is able to develop its franchise based operations in

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different parts of the world. Geographical diversification is an important factor that is a major
strength of the organization based on its effective operations. The company has also
developed its brand value in the retail industry. The strategy of the organization has been
shifted from customer focussed to product based (West, Ford and Ibrahim 2015).
Weaknesses – The company has started losing its revenues and employees to the key
competitors in the market. The levels of investments that can be made in the digital
transformation based activities are quite low. The new initiatives that have been implemented
by the organization in development of new customer base have an impact on the decline that
have been experienced in the sales of Marks & Spencer (Verma, Sharma and Sheth 2016).
Task 3 – Marketing Mix
a. 4 Ps of marketing mix of Marks & Spencer
Products – The eco-friendly goods are offered by Marks & Spencer and the fair trade
products are a part of the product portfolio of the organization. The different products that are
offered to the customers mainly include, apparel, accessories, lingerie, footwear, men’s
footwear, beauty products, home based accessories, furniture, wine, food and flowers. The
product portfolio that has been developed by the organization is considered to be an
important factor that has an impact on the sales and revenues and the customer base of Marks
& Spencer (Cross, Belich and Rudelius 2015).
Place – Marks & Spencer has been able to increase its presence in the international
market with the help of its operations in different countries like, Spain, Morocco, Qatar,
Ireland, Germany, Belgium, India, China. The international operations of the organization
have been able to play a key part in the proper growth of its customer base in the retail
industry. The products reach the consumers via the outlets that are chosen in a strategic
manner in order to gain maximum levels of visibility (Chaffey and Smith 2017).

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Price – The amounts of revenues that have been gained by Marks & Spencer in the
year 2017 is around 10,622.0 Million Pounds. The organization operates its own brand for the
fashion apparels that are offered to the upper class and the middle class section. The products
provided by the company are considered to be value for money based. The diverse range of
products are able to fulfil different demands and needs of the consumers as well (Chaffey and
Smith 2017).
Promotions – The marketing policy that has been formed by Marks & Spencer is
aligned with different tools. The organization has adopted both below-the-line and above-the-
line strategies in order to develop marketing and promotional strategies that can be
implemented in order to attract the consumers. The advertisements are mainly placed in
different mediums like, newspapers, radio, television channels and hoardings (Sigalas 2015).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that Marks & Spencer has been quite
successful in its operations in the retail industry. The marketing mix of the organization is
considered to be a major reason behind the development of its position in the industry.

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References
Arora, A., Arora, A.S. and Sivakumar, K., 2016. Relationships among supply chain
strategies, organizational performance, and technological and market turbulences. The
International Journal of Logistics Management, 27(1), pp.206-232.
Blakeman, R., 2018. Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Chaffey, D. and Smith, P.R., 2017. Digital marketing excellence: planning, optimizing and
integrating online marketing. Taylor & Francis.
Cross, J.C., Belich, T.J. and Rudelius, W., 2015. How marketing managers use market
segmentation: An exploratory study. In Proceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing
Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 531-536). Springer, Cham.
French, J. and Gordon, R., 2015. Strategic social marketing. Sage.
Gillespie, K. and Riddle, L., 2015. Global marketing. Routledge.
Goldberg, M.E., Fishbein, M. and Middlestadt, S.E., 2018. Social marketing: Theoretical and
practical perspectives. Psychology Press.
Jackson, G. and Ahuja, V., 2016. Dawn of the digital age and the evolution of the marketing
mix. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 17(3), pp.170-186.
Marksandspencer.com 2019. Welcome to Marks & Spencer. [online] Marksandspencer.com.
Available at: https://www.marksandspencer.com/ [Accessed 17 Apr. 2019].
McDonald, M. and Wilson, H., 2016. Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to profit
from them. John Wiley & Sons.

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Shams, S.R., 2016. Capacity building for sustained competitive advantage: a conceptual
framework. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 34(5), pp.671-691.
Sigalas, C., 2015. Competitive advantage: the known unknown concept. Management
Decision, 53(9), pp.2004-2016.
Verma, V., Sharma, D. and Sheth, J., 2016. Does relationship marketing matter in online
retailing? A meta-analytic approach. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44(2),
pp.206-217.
West, D.C., Ford, J. and Ibrahim, E., 2015. Strategic marketing: creating competitive
advantage. Oxford University Press, USA.