MARKS AND SPENCER

Marks and Spencer



Marks and Spencer

Introduction

Marks & Spencer p.l.c. is one of the most recognizable clothing retailers in the UK. The company´s stores also sell food and homeware and provide financial services. M&S has enjoyed a consistent record of success and profitability since its origins, with a worldwide reputation for its innovative, high quality products and competitive prices. However, M&S´ prestige and outstanding long-term performance have been hit in recent years by falling sales and declining customer satisfaction. The aim of this report is to identify the key factors that allowed M&S to outperform its competitors up to the mid 1990s. This assignment also explores the reasons behind M&S´ recent crisis and it suggests a number of strategies to regain competitive advantage and to deal with the challenges M&S faces, currently and into the future(Cook 2004).

Quality Issues and program

Marks and Spencer also have an objective for providing high quality  service. They are also well known for their quality. Marks and  Spencer claim that no one cares more about quality it is said in their  annual review report. I think they meet their objective for providing  high quality service, e.g. in their Milton Keynes Store. Most of  their customers that visited Marks and Spencer were happy with the  service on my survey, but I noticed from my own personal experience  some stores were more inviting than others by the display put on at  the entrance of the store and were more efficient and helpful. Marks  and Spencer are meeting their objectives for high quality service in  Milton Keynes and the West End branch in London. 

When Marks & Spencer was riding high as Britain's, and even the world's, most admired retail chain, it had some obvious failings. These included window-dressing that year after year fell blatantly short of the best standards. I mentioned this serious defect once to a Very Important Person (since departed). 'Yes,' he replied, 'our windows are awful.' I couldn't help wondering why so highly paid and assertive a manager had let the wound fester. How many phone calls would (or should) have been needed to get the vital window displays right? Two or three? (Cabinet 2004)

The driving and driven Simon Marks, the true founder of the company, would roam the business like an avenging angel, seeking out corporate sin. Whether it was a plethora of forms (which he famously once consigned to the bonfire), fresh food kept over the weekend, or shortage of stock on the counters, nothing was too small (or big) to escape his attention. It's TQM philosophy again: search the fertile fields of folly and wisely take the ample opportunities for changing expensive slackness into profitable efficiency. (Cornelissen 2003)

ISO 9000 is another quality system method witch is important to Marks and Spencer. This service is a reliable supplier of goods and services to use. Marks and Spencer are well known for providing high quality good and services for many years, they have also extended their own quality control procedures into their suppliers' organisation ...