Marks and Spencer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marks and Spencer - Essay Example Strengths of Marks and Spencer, primarily is their assets. Many of their outlets are purchased when land inside metropolitan areas was not at a premium; as a result the value of these outlets has skyrocketed. Secondarily one of our key strengths is their image (also a weakness that I shall arrive at later) and their brand name, St.Michael. Finally their last identifiable strength is their market share (currently static at 13%) [5]. Their Weaknesses are, as mentioned already, the image and brand name. This is mainly because their target market is split into a number of segments, the most easily identifiable being: School Clothes; pre-teens; teens - 30; 30's - 40's; 50+. This diverse coverage means that they lack the Marketing Economies of Scale with which to target and cater for each of these specifically. In addition to this there is a certain amount of product association that occurs, in the same way Lexus is attached to Toyota, they can't shake the image of a post-war retailer from the minds of the younger people that they're targeting. Opportunities are present in their ability to reshape the firm. With the main segments of the market identified I believe positive steps could be taken to capitalize on this discovery [5]. They can use this information to re-brand certain areas to make them more focused on the individual segments rather than trying to nurture a "One product suits all" ethos. They cultivate a new strategy that makes us more individual. Threats to them still remain the use of Marketing Economies by our competitors. There is no way they can get these simply because of the range that our products are targeting. Other weaknesses include their recent bad press regarding treatment of suppliers which is magnified by their previously thought reliability as a top retailer [1]. The stock marketis a threat to them, mainly because their falling share price leads to less people being interested in purchasing our shares. Chapter 3: Factors Affecting Decision Making: 3.1 The threat of entry: Economies of scale e.g. the benefits associated with bulk purchasing. The high or low cost of entry, e.g. how much will it cost for the latest technology Ease of access to distribution channels e.g. Do our competitors have the distribution channels sewn up Cost advantages not related to the size of the company e.g. personal contacts or knowledge that larger companies do not own or learning curve effects. Will competitors retaliate Government action e.g. will new laws be introduced that will weaken our competitive position How important is differentiation This desensitises the influence of the environment. All they above questions are determinants for a competitor or a new firm to enter the market. Marks and Spencer is constantly bombarded with newer brands which are more consumers specific and focused. People perceive Marks and Spencer as being 'behind the times' and so they have to bring their image in line with the 21st Century in order to win back the customers they have lost to the likes of Gap, Next and USC. According to recent customer surveys, people believe that Marks and Spencer have no specific market. People have commented on the fact that they cannot identify with the store because Marks and Spencer