Business & Financial Performance

Research Report

2

PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The primary objective of this research report is to present a thorough analysis of the business of

M&S Plc and its performance over a three year period from the point of view of an investor. The

period under consideration is the three financial years from 2nd April 2007 to 28th March 2009.

This will mainly be accomplished by employing a detailed ratio analysis on the financial data

available for a three year period.

Only focusing on the financial aspects will not provide a comprehensive analysis of its

performance. Therefore, this report will also focus on the non-financial aspects using a strategic

planning tool called SWOT analysis which will focus on strength, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats inherent in the company of faced by it. The main aims and objectives of the report on

which my research questions were based can be summarised as follows:

• To gather, present and analyse the financial information of M&S Plc for the three year

period ended 28th March 2009 in a form which can assist an investor to assess the overall

financial performance and prospects of the group.

• To analyse the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats which have resulted from

the adopted strategy and their impact on the company and the group as a whole.

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy of M&S Plc.

• To assess whether the company has sufficient resources to wither the economic

downturn.

• To present conclusions on the analysis carried out to aid a potential investor to make a

well informed decision regarding investment in the company.

In addition to the above, I had to base my research on answering the following questions:

• Which sources and methods should be used to collect information?

• Which competitor should be selected to provide a basis for comparison with M&S?

• What are the reasons for M&S being one of the leading retailers and how is it coping

with what has been...