Mark and Spencer Case

MARKS & SPENCER

These are tumultuous times for Marks & Spencer. Their financial results were declared in July 2012, and they did not look good - the profits were continuing to be on a downward trend and a turnaround did not look imminent. Mark Bolland had been hired with much fanfare in 2009 as the new Chief Executive with the specific purpose of turning around the company, but the ground under him was looking increasingly shaky. Following the declaration of the latest financial results in 2012, the Head of Marketing and Merchandise, Kate Bostock was fired.

Marks & Spencer is an iconic British company and brand with a history over a hundred years old. The retail giant peaked in 1998 when it became the first British retailer to register a profit of £1 billion, but since then the retail chain has been on a path of decline relative to competitors.

Following a period of rapid decline after 1998, the company responded by implementing several changes to its marketing strategy including launches of successful new product lines such as Per Una, and new high-profile media campaigns and renewed branding efforts. This did arrest their decline for a short period of time and the organisation managed to record renewed growth peaking in 2008, but since 2008 the company profits have once again been on a downward trend.

Much of the period between 1998 and now at Marks & Spencer has been characterized by repeated changes to strategy, including launches of new product lines combined with culling of existing product lines, repositioning efforts of the brand, new media campaigns, etc., but its market performance relative to competitors such as John Lewis has continued to decline.

Recent attempts at repositioning and product line strategies have included a greater focus on food (eg. Gastropub) and Women's Wear, against the traditional focus on supermarkets and general merchandise. New media campaigns