Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a major British retailer, with over 840 stores in more than 30 countries around the world, over 600 domestic and 285 international. It is the largest clothing retailer in the United Kingdom, as well as being a food retailer, and as of 2008, the 43rd largest retailer in the world. Most of its domestic stores sell both clothing and food, and since the turn of the century it has started expanding into other ranges such as homewares, furniture and technology.

In 1998 it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

The company was founded by Michael Marks, a Polish immigrant from Slonim, he first opened a penny bazaar (Marks Penny Bazaar) in Hartlepool, the port of his entry in to England, selling imported toys and other goods from his native Poland, which where brought to the town through the port, he then ventured to Leeds in 1884 as a single market stall . After Thomas Spencer joined the company in 1894 it was known as 'Marks and Spencer'. The site of the first stall is marked with a green and gold commemorative clock in Leeds Kirkgate Market. One of the original Penny Bazaars - in the Grainger Market, Newcastle upon Tyne - remains open to this day, and is now the smallest M&S store in operation.

Marks and Spencer, known colloquially as "Marks and Sparks", "Markses", or "M&S", made its reputation in the 20th century on a policy of only selling British-made goods. It entered into long term relationships with British manufacturers, and sold clothes and food under the "St Michael" brand (trademark registered in 1928), a name which honours its co-founder Michael Marks. It also accepted the return of unwanted items, giving a full cash refund if the receipt was shown, no matter how long ago the product was purchased. It adopted a 90-day returns policy in 2005 but on the 12th of April 2009 the refund policy changed once again to 35 days. This is still the most generous refund period on the British high street.

By 1950, all goods were sold under the St Michael label. M&S lingerie and girlswear were branded under the "St Margaret" label until the whole range of general merchandise became St Michael. Simon Marks, son of Michael Marks, died in 1964, after 56 years' service to the Company. Israel Sieff took over as Chairman. A cautious international expansion began with the introduction of Asian food in 1974. M&S opened stores in continental Europe in 1975 and in Ireland four years later.

The company put its main emphasis on quality, but for most of its history, it also had a reputation for offering fair value for money. M&S has historically been an iconic retailer of 'British Quality Goods'.

In 1988 the company acquired Brooks Brothers, an American clothing company[7] and Kings Super Markets, a US food chain.[8] They were subsequently sold off, in 2001 and 2006 respectively. All international stores are operated under franchise, with the exception of the stores in the Republic of Ireland and Hong Kong which remain in company ownership.

The first M&S store in central Asia was built in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1960s. M&S expanded into Canada in 1973, and at one point had 47 stores across Canada. The stores in Canada were smaller than British outlets, and did not carry the same selection. Expansion into France began with stores opening in Paris at Boulevard Haussmann and Lyon in 1975, followed by a second Paris store at Rosny 2 in 1977. Further expansion into other French and Belgian cities followed into the 1980s. In February 2007, M&S announced the opening of the world’s largest M&S store outside the UK at Dubai Festival City. On 2 October 2008, M&S opened its first mainland China store in Shanghai.

Fair Trade and the Environment

In 2006 the Look Behind the Label marketing campaign was introduced. The aim of this campaign was to highlight to customers, the various ethical and environmentally friendly aspects, of the production and sourcing methods engaged in by M&S including: Fairtrade products, sustainable fishing and environmentally friendly textile dyes. All coffee and tea sold in M&S stores is now Fairtrade. in addition the company offers clothing lines made from Fairtrade Cotton in selected departments. At Christmas the company introduces a range of food products to support the housing charity Shelter predominantly in the food to go range including a range of seasonal Christmas sandwiches.

On 15 January 2007, M&S launched an initiative, known as 'Plan A', to dramatically increase the environmental sustainability of the business within 5 years and expected to cost £200 million. The plan covers "100 commitments over 5 years to address the key social and environmental challenges facing M&S today and in the future" with the tag-line "Because there is no Plan B". The commitments span five themes: climate change, waste, sustainable raw materials, 'fair partnership' and health, with the aim that, by 2012, it will:

1. Become carbon neutral
2. Send no waste to landfill
3. Extend sustainable sourcing
4. Help improve the lives of people in their supply chain
5. Help customers and employees live a healthier life-style

Despite an 18% fall in the share price in January 2008, following publication of their latest trading statement, the company confirmed that they would be continuing with the plan, saying that there were 'compelling commercial - as well as moral - reasons to do so'.[

May 2008 has seen the introduction of the 5p carrier bag scheme at M&S stores, with customers now paying 5p per standard sized vest carrier bag for food purchases. This implementation was brought about through the 'Plan A' scheme, to try to discourage use of the traditional plastic bag. All profits from the sale of food bags go to Groundwork UK.

In becoming carbon neutral the company has committed to only use carbon offsetting as a last resort, restricted to cases "where it is required by government or where the technology for green air or road transport will not be available for the foreseeable future". As of August 2008 M&S had three wind turbines in operation, one at Methlick and two near Strichen, generating enough power to supply three stores via the National Grid. In April 2009 the company began purchasing 2.6 TWh of renewable energy (wind and hydroelectric) from Npower, enough to power all Marks & Spencer stores and offices in England and Wales.

New Store Format

A new store format designed by Urban Salon Architects[41] has won much praise and is in the process of being rolled out across all stores, with most stores being completed by the end of 2008. The full new look makeover is a reworking of store design, including the gutting of old stores, and installation of a brighter, more spacious, modern and contemporary design, replacing carpets and laminate floors with white tile throughout (black tile in Foods) thus opening the floor instead of having pathways, having new contemporary white mannequins in new designs and poses, new displays and kit such as new design clothing rails, product stands (formerly known as "Lutons"), display and product walls, window display styles, larger fitting rooms, glass walls, till points, and general total updating of decals, designs, equipment, and lighting.

Several of the old 'Luton' format stores have received what is known internally as a 'Light Touch' re-fit, which involves bringing the store up-to-date with new floors, till points, mannequins, signage etc (actual work differs per store) but not to the extent of a full refurbishment, as mentioned above. This occurs in stores that are subject to re-development/re-location.

M&S was the first retailer in the UK to introduce self checkout tills in the food-halls of a small number of trial stores back in 2002. Self Checkout was implemented in the general merchandise sections in 3 trial stores in 2006 and roll-out to flagship stores is in progress