Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's leading retailers of clothing, foods, homeware and financial services, serving 10 million customers a week in over 300 UK stores.

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Business Report

Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's leading retailers of clothing, foods, homeware and financial services, serving 10 million customers a week in over 300 UK stores. The Company also trades in 30 countries world wide, and has a Group turnover in excess of £8 billion.

Marks and Spencer originated from Michael Marks and Tom Spencer in 1884

Since then Marks and Spencer has become a global retailer and each year has seen the company go from strength to strength. Although this can be said for most years Marks and Spencer has had its recessions from about 1998 - 2000 Marks and Spencer went through a bad spell not only in its customer relations but also in the press and media. Since 1920, Marks and Spencer has bought directly through the manufacture, using its trademark name "St Michael" and became a public company in 1926 with its first store opening in 1930 in London. Café bars were opened in the late 1930's, as were research labs to pioneer new fabrics to the M&S range.

Since then M&S has become Britains leading department store offering a wide range of products and services.

M&S has six executive directors, this is obviously a winning factor in M&S as it has shown an increase in sales every year. There are many strengths and weaknesses to this kind of structure. Marks and Spencer is a

Sole Trader

This is when an individual owns and operates their business their own way, although it can be done by more than one individual the sole trader makes the financial decisions. The sole trader is the only one who obtains any success but is liable to any burdens that may get in the way - I.e. bankruptcy. He or she will have unlimited liability.

Pros

- More capital

- Expansion

- Additional Skills

Cons

- Share profits

- Loss of control

- Unlimited liability

Marks and Spencer was once a sole trader when it first opened, but now is the complete opposite.

Public Limited Company. This is when the shares of a company can be floated then sold on the stock market, so therefore anyone who is interested in this organisation can have his/her share of the company. Were as some companies are Private limited companies M&S is a public limited company, this means a public limited company like M&S can raise capital from the general public whereas private limited companies cant, the share have to be sold or bought with the permission of directors of that company. Private limited companies have to have a capital of £50,000 upwards, whereas there is no requirement of capital for public.

Public limited companies like M&S spend Thousands each year providing accounts for their investors, this can raise interest into the business and help there annual capital. M&S have even made an independent website for its investors, providing accounts and reports. There are equally Pros and Cons to a public limited company like M&S.

Advantages

* It is generally easier to raise finance that it would be for a private limited company.

* There is less risk into investing into a public limited company, so M&S is likely to capitalise from smaller interest charges.

* Manufactures and suppliers are more

Disadvantages

? The cost of floating shares on the stock market can cost and some of the outlay is fixed and so falls heavy on small issues. As the company increases in size the cost gradually will fall.
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? A public limited company must keep their investors informed and so therefore have to spend money in keeping the investors interested in the company. Marks and Spencer has spent thousands on their website informing investors about reports and share rates.

? This information can be very sensitive and competition can easily get their hands on it.

? It is very hard for on individual or group of people to get control of the business.

Although shareholders of a public limited company own a percentage of the business they don't have control over ...

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