Marks and spencer is a group of companies with various ventures that include financial services, clothings, housewares and food. Like several other retailing outfits, M&S needs to provide great competition in this red ocean to claim considerable market share. M&S decided to deepen the innovative inclusions into their products line by focussing strategies after observing a huge decrease in turnover and profit from 1999 with further down trodding in 2000 as shown in the table below. M&S hence, started to pick up in the early 2001 to obtain considerable profit over the time with increasing shareholders returns. Table of financial performances of M&S in 13 years .
Year ended
Turnover (£ M)
Profit before tax (£ M)
Net profit (£ M)
Basic(eps)
31 March2008
9,022.0
1,129.1
821
49.2
31 March 2007
8,588.1
936.7
659.9
39.1
30 April 2006
7,797.7
745.7
520.6
36.4
30 April 2005
7,490.5
505.1
355.0
29.1
30 April 2004
8,301.5
781.6
452.3
24.2
30 April 2003
8,019.1
677.5
480.5
20.7
31March 2002
8,135.4
335.9
153
5.4
31 March 2001
8,075.7
145.5
2.8
0.0
1 April 2000
8,195.5
417.5
258.7
9.0
31 March 1999
8,224.0
546.1
372.1
13.0
30 March 1998
8,243.3
1,155.0
815.9
28.6
31 March 1997
7,841.9
1,129.1
746.6
26.7
31 March 1996
7,233.7
965.8
652.6
455.8
Source: Marks and Spencers Financial Performance, Wikipedia.
Mark and Spencer was able to identify their core business in clothing and food. Although, the group include financial services and homewares, over the years M&S have suffered tremendeous setback in their expected market shares while focusing on womenswears of ages 35-55. Note that all companies including M&S can only apply any or all of the three generic strategies,that is, cost leadership, differentiation, and focus(Nonaka et al, 1997). Considering one of M&S’s core