The M&S as a Brand Over the Other Retailers in the Minds of Customers - Research Paper Example

The founder of the company Mr Michael Marks started it as a single market stall in Leeds in1884, with the main objective of tailor-made products to be sold at the moderate price. This was later joined by Thomas Spencer in 1894, and the company started acquiring more outlets and selling only British Made products under the brand name St. Michaels. This was one of the many reasons for its success in the UK, as the products were solely British made, and the business increased with many British manufacturers.

According to the Annual report, M&S, over 21 million people visit Marks & Spencer ’s every week for their shopping, because of its quality and value for money. From 1974, M&S started its international expansion in Europe and Ireland as discussed by Pellegrini, L. (1994) and today it has a remarkable presence in 39 territories across the globe. This iconic retailer pitched its success in the year 1998 when it crossed the £ 1 billion mark, which was highest ever that could be achieved by any retail chain in the UK.

But this success story came to the sudden downfall and after two years, this empire was in a very difficult situation (Goodman 2000; Bevan 2001; Mellahi et al. 2002). The many reasons behind this slump were increased competition by other retailers, who outsourced their products, the increased cost of production by the British manufacturers increased the cost of production and thus decrease the sale affecting the profit margin. Another important factor contributing to a low sale was the policy of non-acceptance of credit cards.