An Organizational Analysis of M&s & Next

Organizational analysis entails evaluating the functions, process and development of an organisation over a period of time. Marks and Spencer, and Next Plc are mass-market retail chain stores with a significant presence in the clothing market. One of the major strengths of both these companies is that they have established a clothing line market niche, and are well known by their customers due to the high quality of their products and the reasonable prices.

Location

Both M&S and Next have their origins in the UK, but have constantly expanded to establish stores all over the world. M&S has stores in more than 40 countries with more than 700 stores just in the UK. Next Plc also has a worldwide presence with more than 180 stores in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Both companies locate their retail stores in high-end streets. This has earned them a reputation with customers looking for trendy products at pocket-friendly prices.

Product

NEXT Plc and M&S are primarily retail clothing outlets, but also sell products as diverse as homewares and footwear for Next and healthy foods for M&S. Next's clothing line targets men and women between the ages of 20 and 40. M&S has a more generic clothing line, such that it is not exclusive to a bracketed customer group. M&S provides a wider range of options while Next Plc narrows the options but makes choosing a piece of clothing easier through the targeted approach

Business Model

Both these companies utilise a face-to face method of distributing their products, through high street retail stores. Developing contact with the customers is a similar attribute of both companies' business strategy. M3,406.5m at the end of January 2010 (FY2010), an increase of 4.1 per cent from 2009. BBC Business notes that M632.5m in the financial year of 2010.