MARKS & SPENCERS MAJOR CLOTHING BRANDS

Marks and Spencers Major Clothing Brands: How does a Company Build a Successful Company Brand image?



Abstract

In modern world of high-street fashion competition Marks & Spencer (M&S) is adopting innovative strategies to compete and survive in order to capture and maintain market share with the help of its brands. Being a seasonal and highly volatile market the fashion market is always vulnerable to the concept of 'fading-out'. Everyday a new design, style, fad or fashion develops and becomes hype hence fading out the previous fashion. The retailers that keep up the pace of this fast development and creativity manage to survive, while those left behind, become extinct. This dissertation examines the brand management strategies that Marks & Spencer (M&S) would adopt to compete in the international market. From the process of internationalisation, to devising brand strategies, to taking the right decisions of brand management, all of the issues are equally important and carry immense importance.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Chapter 1: Introduction4

Introduction4

Aim of the Dissertation6

Chapter 2: Literature Review9

Brand imaging9

Branding12

Brand Management14

Brand Positioning of Marks & Spencer16

Brands of Marks & Spencer and Corporate Identity19

Corporate Culture & Strategy of M&S24

Internal Operations of Different Brands of Marks & Spencer26

External Operations for Different Brands of Marks & Spencer27

Corporate Strategy: Business Diversification27

Corporate Strategy: Mergers, Acquisitions & Disposals30

Corporate Strategy: Marketing Strategies31

Corporate Strategy: Private Label Penetration33

Corporate Strategy: Vertical Integration33

Corporate Strategy: Technological Positioning34

Corporate Strategy: Business Strategies - UK37

Corporate Strategy: Business Strategies - International38

Chapter 3: Method40

Conceptual Framework and research question40

Questionnaire41

Chapter 5: Conclusion and further scope for research46

Chapter 4: Discussion & Analysis49

Analysis of the Company49

External Environment49

SWOT Analysis53

Paradigm Change in the Brand Strength of Marks & Spencer58

Key Stakeholders in Marks & Spencer63

Comments and Approach to Managing Stakeholders65

Evaluation of M&S's Strategy67

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation75

References82

Appendix88

Questionnaire88

Marks and Spencers Major Clothing Brands: How does a Company Build a Successful Company Brand image?

Chapter 1: Introduction

Introduction

Marks & Spencer plc. is one of the most recognizable clothing retailers in the UK. The company's stores also sell food and homeware and provide financial services. M&S has enjoyed a consistent record of success and profitability since its origins, with a worldwide reputation for its innovative, high quality products and competitive prices. However, M&S' prestige and outstanding long-term performance have been hit in recent years by falling sales and declining customer satisfaction. The aim of this report is to identify the key factors that allowed M&S to outperform its competitors up to the mid 1990s. This assignment also explores the reasons behind M&S' recent crisis and it suggests a number of strategies to regain competitive advantage and to deal with the challenges M&S faces, currently and into the future.

There has been some quality research on brand imaging relating to its diversified fields such as the motivations to go international, the whole process of internationalisation, individual company experiences and the direction of a company towards internationalisation (Alexander 2000). There has been some literature on grocery retailing and brand images of retailers across borders (Myers et al, 2007), but one aspect of brand imaging that has remained relatively under researched has ...