Marks and Spencer

MARKS AND SPENCER’S CASE STUDY

Q1) To what extent is M&S an MNE? How can they become a better MNE?

M&S can be called an MNE due to many reasons or facts.

They are one of the UK’s leading retailers, with over 21 million people visiting their stores each week. They offer stylish, high quality, great value clothing and home products, as well as outstanding quality foods, responsibly sourced from around 2,000 suppliers globally. They employ over 75,000 people and their main headquarter is in the UK where they have over 600 UK stores, plus an expanding international business where they operate in around 337 stores in 41 territories overseas.

They are the number one provider of women’s wear and lingerie in the UK, and are rapidly growing their market share in menswear, kids wear and home, due in part to our growing online business. Overall, their clothing and home ware sales account for 49% of their business. The other 51% of their business is in food, where they sell everything from fresh produce and groceries, to partly-prepared meals and ready meals.

They are also known for their green credentials as a result of their five-year eco plan. They have a strong track record in community ethics (carbon reduction, fair trade, social responsibility etc.) They also have a standard vision whether they are working home or abroad their vision is the same – ‘To be the standard against which all others are measured’

M& S can be a better MNE by engaging in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). FDI is the ownership and control of foreign assets. It involves either partial or whole of a company in a foreign country OR the company can set up an overseas joint venture or a completely owned enterprise. FDI to M&S would mean an additional increase in sales and profits. Sometimes foreign markets tend to offer more profitable opportunities than domestic markets do. Enter rapidly growing markets such as china, India and Brazil. China has seemed to move to a market driven economy and...