Marks And Spencers Business Strategy Assignment

Marks And Spencers Business Strategy - Assignment Example The company has a very humble beginning but it has grown significantly over time to become a leader within the business industry of its operations. The company has dominated the British market for a long time. Its dominance is attributed to the value and quality of the clothing products that it offers its customers with a view of gaining their loyalty to its products. Marketing Week, (2005, p. 9) reveals that it is through the value that Marks and Spencer has for the needs of the customers that shoppers have been obliged to desire its products as opposed to those of the competitors. With time, the company has grown and diversified its products significantly and in addition to clothing, the company provides its customers with furniture, food and loan services. This paper gives a critical discussion and analysis of the business strategy of Marks and Spencer Plc with a view of analyzing and evaluating the company’s strategy using Porters Generic Strategy Framework. Moreover, the company is assessed in terms of acceptability, feasibility and suitability toward all of its stakeholders. Analyzing Marks and Spencer’s Strategy Business Strategy In 1999, the glory that Marks and Spencer had in the market started to crumble. This was illustrated by the fall in profits. As a result of the failure that the company experienced, it has endeavored to apply the most suitable business strategy so that it would remain competitive within the market and maintain its glory. Davies (1999, p. 60) points out that Marks and Spencer adopted a Competitive Strategy Model and Value Chain so that it would recover from the previous failures and challenges and thus maintain its competitive advantage while remaining as the market leader of the industry of its operation.... Davies (1999, p. 60) points out that Marks and Spencer adopted a Competitive Strategy Model and Value Chain so that it would recover from the previous failures and challenges and thus maintain its competitive advantage while remaining as the market leader of the industry of its operation. Kenny (2009) adds that it is through the Competitive Strategy Model and Value Chain that Marks and Spencer has regained its glory which is revealed by its current success and competitiveness in the market. The SWO analysis of the company which reflects its competitiveness is presented in Appendix 1. Business Environment and Strategy Datamonitor (2007, p. 1) demonstrates that the five forces of generic Strategies as postulated by Porter have been proved to be the most effective aids for businesses in the attainment of a competitive edge within the business environment. The key areas under which Porters Generic Strategy Framework analyzes businesses the power of suppliers, the power of buyers, the thr eat of substitutes, the threat of entry and the competitive rivalry. Grundy (2005, p. 195) explains that the business environment involves various forces which determine the success of a company and these include competition and economic, social, legal and cultural forces. The ability of a company to survive the challenges which the environment presents it with is determined by the implementation of a suitable business strategy which ensures that a competitive advantage is gained and attained. Beaver (1999, p. 325) recommends a Competitive Strategy Model as a way of allowing a company to overcome the environmental forces and thus become a market leader and the most competitive business in the market. Therefore the implementation of the Competitive Strategy Model by Marks and Spencer