Marks & Spencer

Finding a person who has never heard of the Marks & Spencer brand is quite difficult nowadays. And all because not so many retail chains have a history of 125 years, prevalence around the world and a reputation as the standard of English quality. What can we say, if the “iron lady” of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, preferred the suits of this particular company.

Today, almost everything is bought up in Marks & Spencer stores - from students to millionaires. But the beginning of such success was laid a long time ago, back in 1875. It was then that the Russian Mikhail Marks decided to migrate to England. Arriving in the UK, he did not even speak English, but this did not prevent him from quickly understanding the basic principles of survival in the capitalist world. An eighteen-year-old immigrant opened a store in the town of Hartlepool, inside which he collected goods of various categories - from clothing to household items. The motto of the store was: "Don't ask the price - everyone is one penny." This approach not only attracted more and more new customers, but also relieved the owner of the need to speak English.

Thus, Michael Marks, on the basis of his own experience, understood what exactly the buyers needed. They wanted a variety of things they needed to be collected in one place, while high-quality and, if possible, not at all expensive. Despite the fact that the implementation of such requirements seemed impossible, Marx took up the realization of his idea.

In 1884, he met Thomas Spencer, who at that time worked as a cashier at a local warehouse. Thomas Spencer was able to contribute only 300 pounds to the development of their business, but his good relations with suppliers allowed the partners to set the lowest possible prices for their goods. Soon the affairs of the partners began to develop so well that the initial 300 pounds of Thomas Spencer turned into 15 thousand during the first 10 years. Today, M&S stores in England alone bring in about 50 million pounds a month. And not everyone can compare with such indicators.

Marks and Spencer

What explains the unprecedented popularity of this brand?

First, Marks & Spencer has never sacrificed the quality of their products for a low price. Regardless of how much money the buyer gave for this or that product, he could always be sure of unsurpassed British quality.

Secondly, M&S stores unite under one roof everything that an average shopper might need - from clothing to household goods. There are supermarkets, coffee shops and restaurants on the territory of the shops. There is absolutely no need to spend your time looking for goods anymore, because everything is in one place.

Thirdly, each of the M&S stores can boast of friendly and extremely friendly staff. Each of the store employees diligently holds on to their work, and this is not surprising. In addition to a good salary, they can count on free services from doctors, hairdressers and manicurists, as well as receive other additional bonuses. Only happy sellers can make happy buyers, Michael Marks was sure.

It was Marks & Spencer who was the first in the world to begin refunding customers for purchased but unused goods, regardless of the reason for the refusal and the date of purchase. Thus, the company emphasized that for it in the first place - only the comfort of customers.

Marks & Spencer is known all over the world, first of all, as a brand under which clothing is produced. At the same time, the company never set itself the goal of creating super fashionable things. Preference was given to simplicity, but unchanging quality. However, manufacturers did not refuse the latest developments that could make the things they produce more enjoyable for people. Back in 1934, a research laboratory was founded at M&S, which developed new types of fabrics. So there were woolen clothes that could be washed, and cotton clothes that would not need to be ironed, as well as new types of easy-care synthetics. As a result of these studies, as many as 12 M&S products received the title of "Product of the Millennium" in 2000.

Today, this company owns more than 885 stores in more than 40 countries around the world. In addition, for the past 14 years, Marks & Spencer has been available to customers via the Internet - any product can be ordered without any problems from an authorized website with delivery directly to your home.

M&S is constantly growing and changing, each time surprising its customers with something new. So, one of the new announcements made by representatives of the company was the beginning of an active work on solving the issues of energy loss, climate change and improving public health.