3.

What kinds of competitive forces are industry members facing, and how strong is each
force?
We can analyse the competitiveness of the members of the clothing industry through Porter's
5 forces competition model
Buyers bargaining power
As for the power in the hands of consumers, we can say that is very high and to their
advantage. There are many more fashionable, trendy and economic alternatives that
consumers can choose (H&M, Zara, Stradivarius, Koton, Primark etc.). Hence, the cost of
switching from one rival to another for the price-oriented consumer is very low. Moreover,
also due to the 2008 crisis and the 2016 Brexit which brought economic fluctuations and
uncertainty, consumers, especially in UK where the company mainly operates, are more
oriented towards saving and this has had repercussions in the clothing industry in general, so
the various brands have had to adapt to the strong consumer bargaining power by lowering
prices.
Threat of substitutes
M&S operates in an industry in which knowing how to keep up with fashion and new trends
is essential to continue to attract consumers and always keep the brand image fresh. As for
the clothing industry, the threat of substitutes is high. Usually what competitors and M&S
rivals do is copy or imitate clothes from fashion catwalks and try to reinterpret the style of
influencers or famous designers. Therefore the number of substitutes is very high, moreover
the people nowadays tend more and more to buy not out of necessity, but to get rid of a
whim, so if a pair of trousers from M&S costs too much from M&S, the consumer can surely
find a cheaper or fancy skirt from Zara for example. The managers of M&S are therefore
trying hard to raise the brand image as they have not been able to keep up, they did not offer
tempting trendy alternatives to the consumer, thus ending up partly devoured by the many
substitutes that offer the rivals.
Bargaining power of suppliers
As for suppliers, they do not have a significant strength in the clothing industry. Many of the
suppliers come from developing countries where labour costs very little, so big brands like
Marks and Spencer have the power to decide prices and conditions at their leisure and can
easily switch from one supplier to another. An example is the Plan A idealized by M&S to be
more environmentally sustainable: the company "want 100% of their product volume to come
from suppliers that have reached least Silver on their Sustainability Scorecard". This shows
how the various suppliers have to adapt far and wide to the various policies and desires of the
industry.
Threat of new entrants
Although it is rather easy to copy trends and styles, it is very difficult to create a strong brand
image and attract consumer confidence in the world of the clothing industry. In addition,
entering the clothing industry requires the investment of large sums to buy materials, sales
spaces and create good publicity. For these reasons it is possible to state that the threat of new
entrants in this industry remains very low due to the strong barriers imposed by the industry
itself and by the market.
Rivalry
Competitiveness and rivalry are very high in the world of retailers and the clothing industry.
This market is now saturated with substitutes and products that are very similar to each other,
so the various brands try to compete aggressively to grace as many consumers as possible. In
particular, in recent years thanks to the increasingly technological propensity of companies to
advertise their products, one can witness real advertising campaigns on digital platforms such
as Instagram. Many companies try to attract as much profit as possible by having their
clothing worn by influencers or famous people so that people have more incentive to buy
their products. Other companies like H&M create collections inspired by successful TV
series like Friends or Stranger Things. The rivalry is therefore very high and it does not
matter if the company was founded 135 years ago (1884 is the year in which Marks &
Spencer was founded), staying afloat and keeping up with the times in the clothing industry is
a matter not focused on the experience in the sector, but on the type of image that the
managers manage to create of the brand thanks to the new marketing techniques and
immersing themselves more and more in the digital world, also improving the online
purchase experience.

References
 http://www.em-solutions.co.uk/blog/marks-spencer-plan-a-commitments-how-does-
it-affect-suppliers/
 https://www.drapersonline.com/news/ms-to-cut-ties-with-more-third-party-
suppliers/7014642.article
 https://www.ft.com/content/f9b87f60-e461-11e9-9743-db5a370481bc
 https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/aboutus/clothing-and-home