Case Study- Marks & Spencer - Essay Example

Case Study- Marks & Spencer Despite new policies being made and brand’s shares overtaking the UK general retail index since 2009, M&S still fails to be a hit around the globe. I think this is because save cost savings, little improvement is made in financial performance with majority of customers who approach M&S stores belonging to old age group. This is one of the main shortcomings of the company that it fails to attract younger people especially women to its stores and this is an area where more work needs to be done by M&S management in order to compensate for the fall in profits.

A growing body of arguments attempts to find out what exactly M&S should do to combat falling fashion sales which despite different policies and many changes made within company, fail to reverse. People who ardently used to approach M&S stores for quality shopping experience now hesitate because apart from dwindling standard, there is also lack of innovation and flair in designs and patterns of clothes. This explains why M&S is currently relying more on food sales for annual profits as clothing sales continue to struggle.

I think it would be a better future strategy if M&S decides to focus less on celebrity-laden advertising campaigns and invest more in bringing back the quality and originality in its clothing designs. It is reported that M&S CEO Bolland faces pressure from critics as the business reports consistent fall in clothing sales. (Thompson 2013). In contrast to cloth sales, M&S has made more progress as the most significant food retailer in the UK in terms of customer satisfaction. I think that same old arguments regarding performance and clothing sales will keep haunting M&S cloth stores in the coming years if the leaders do not make radical changes in the company.

Employee empowerment is good but this is also true that M&S has suffered quite much as a result of deciding to distribute power to the lowest level possible. This decision started many of its store managers making many decisions on their own which were not very well-thought-out and negatively interfered with both fashion sales and customer loyalty. It is suggested that delivery of power to employees working on all levels is good but only if top management continues to heavily monitor all operations being performed.

It is also recommended that people at top positions in the company who have power should establish a new healthy culture at M&S plc in an attempt to rid it of its constipated culture. This is the biggest challenge which should be analyzed in order to plummet down the rate of operation problems. Also, failure to meet profit targets is one of the primary issues encountered by the management. Several issues like poor relations with investors and suppliers, embarrassing boardroom arguments, failure to provide trendier clothes at lower prices, and more than necessary autonomy given to people working at low level are responsible for this.

I think that as a way of