Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 Strengths
3.1.1 High Quality
High quality is the major strength that makes M&S successful. Customers always find high quality
goods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and other superior goods in M&S’s food hall (Ciao, 2002).
With many people turnning to eat vegetarian meals, M&S grasps the consumers’ need. M&S has
high quality of products that are the food and other products, such as baby products and women’s
underwear.
3.1.2 Customer Services
M&S has high reputation for focusing on customer service. (Christie, 2002). This is one of the most
important methods to make a good relationship between customers and M&S. For example, when
women want to buy underwears for themselves, the shop assistants will help them to measure sizes
and give them good suggestions.
3.1.3 Shopping Environement
M&S tries to make customers feel more convenient and comfortable. It makes stores brighter, and
uses modern designs (Rungfapaisarn, 2001). All goods in the shop can be seen immediately.
Furthermore, customers do not worry about being drowned in many shelves and avoiding
multitudinous people.
3.1.4 Manager Training
One of M&S’s strengths is its strict and excellent manager training system (Retail Technology,
1999). Every manager of M&S must be familiar with duty of every post. In fact, managers of M&S are
arranged practice of every post. It helps them to improve both work experiences and management
skills.
3.2 Weakness
3.2.1 Clothing Lack Segmentation
The clothing market of M&S has many segments. In fact, the merchanclise, especially ladies
outerwear, is outmoded design and cut. In addition, affluent younger consumers prefer purchasing
brand-labels, such as Gap, Next and Topshop (Jobber, 2001: 149).
3.2.2 Stock Control
“The non-performance of the home delivery/shopping service even sometimes involves wedding
lists. Customers were told that items were out of stock†(Jobber, 2001: 149). Customers complain the
defect of e-shooping and delivery services. To some extent, M&S suffers from the unbalance between
the stock and Information Technology System.
3.2.3 Waste Store Spaces
Another problem is that M&S has many store spaces. In fact, it has added 75 percent of square footage
since the early Eighties, but its market share in clothing has not increased (Stewart, 2000). M&S needs
to find some new products to stuff its extra spaces.
3.3 Opportunities
3.3.1 Internet Technology
Internet technology has developed fast, it offers an opportunity to increase the demand for the online
products (Zakon, 1999). In terms of this circumstance, buying products online became a new trend.
Customers are getting used to accept the model and adapt it to their daily lives, and the demand for
this kind of products would be increased in the future.
3.3.2 Healthy Eating
Healthy eating offers an opportunity that the demand of specific food will be increased (Leyshon,
2002). People pay attention to the life quality, they request companies to offer varied products to
satisfy their needs. For example, in the food market, M&S does good segmentation in providing the
vegetarian, low fat or organic food. This is the advantage that the competitors have not aware of it.
3.3.3 Marketing Extending
The Company owned stores in the Republic of Ireland and Hong Kong and has 131 franchise stores in
28 countries operating through a network of successful partnerships (Marks & Spencer, 2002d). In the
future, the company will expand its business beyond the existing area.
3.4 Threats
Although M&S has its own strengths, opportunities and weaknesses, it still occurs some threats from
itself and other competitors.
3.4.1 Strong Competitors
Strong competitors are the most threat to M&S. For example, in the food market, there are four main
supermarkets, such as Tesco, Asda, Safeway and Sainsbury (Ocr, 2002). They provide not only high
quality but also value-added products to build customers’ loyalty. In the clothing market, Gap,
Next, Topshop and other fashionable brands may compete with M&S (M&S shuts, 2001).