Decision Making for Managers: Marks and Spencer - Assignment Example

Download file to see previous pages Markers and Spencer is a UK based retail company where around 21 million people visit its stores each week. Their supply base comprises more than 2,000 around the world who supplies stylish and high-quality clothes, home products and food items. They have around 600 stores in the UK where more than 75,000 employees are working in UK stores. The business is expanding at a faster rate in the international market also. The retail business is divisible in two sections; the cloths and homeware section which contributes 49 percent of the total revenue and food section from where the rest of 51 percent of the sale is generated. The company is also known for its “green credential” as it has taken a plan to reduce carbon emission and no waste to landfills by the year 2012 (Marks and Spencer, n.d.).
Financial performance of the company from 2005-2009
The majority of the company’s revenue is generated in the UK and the remaining comes from the international market. On analysing the sales data over last five years (2005-2009) it was found that the revenue is not showing a constant upward trend, but the good sign is it has increased 5.5 percent from 2008 to 2009 and with passage of time as the economical condition of UK will improve along with high demand in developing nations, revenues will go much higher. At present, the company is taking more initiatives in diversifying the business in developing nations. In 2007/2008 the company adopted a strategy to attain a growth to 15-20 percent in its international business and soon it is going to touch the target with a 25.9 percent hike in sales. Initially, the company paid more emphasis on expanding its franchises in unexplored markets, but now it is planning to undertake partly or fully owned subsidiaries (Company Annual Report, 2009).
To analyze the fundamental financial performance of the company, its profitability and investment aspects were analyzed by calculating different financial ratios for the past five years (2005-2009). ...Download file to see next pagesRead More