Chapter-1 Introduction to the brand

Year of establishment 1958 Robinnson group Marc Bolland (CEO) Robert Swannell (Chairman) Sir Michael Marks (Founder) Thomas Spencer (Founder) British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London Offering high quality products to the customers. 1,064 stores in more than 40 countries Marks and Spencer Reliance India Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between Marks and Spencer plc (UK) and Reliance Retail. 26 stores in India located in- Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. 8 stores in Delhi region 1 Stores in Noida 2 Stores in Gurgaon

Ownership details

Headquarter Unique Selling Proposition Global presence(countries/no of stores)

Indian partner details

No of stores in the country

No of stores in the Delhi/NCR region

Chapter-2 Retail Format Analysis

Marks & Spencer lies in department store as well as Chain store format. A department store is a retail establishment with a building open to the public which offers a wide range of consumer goods such as clothing, housewares, furniture and appliances. It typically offers a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in different product categories(Also known as "departments" hence the name). Department stores usually sell products including clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, paint and hardware and additionally select other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment and baby and pet needs. It provides customers, maximum shopping convenience and therefore, also called as 'Universal Providers' or 'One spot shopping'. Characteristics / Features of Departmental Store Following are the main features or characteristics of a Departmental Store :1. Departmental Store offers a wide variety of goods A departmental store not only offers a wide variety of goods and but also provides a huge range of designs, colours and styles that suit individual demands of consumers. 2. Departmental Store means shopping under one roof The main idea behind a departmental store is to supply all basic requirements under one roof. It acts as a supplier of a large variety of quality goods and services. Thus, departmental store provides maximum shopping convenience to its customers. 3. Departmental Store offers quality goods and services The motto of every departmental store is to provide high quality goods and render professional services to their customers. It always keeps a huge stock of fresh goods which highlight latest fashions and trends followed by different manufacturers. 4. Departmental Store has a single management Various sections of the departmental store operate independently. However, they all are under direct control of a single management. Buying, supervision, accounting, advertising and external communications are handled directly by the central management of a departmental store. 5. Departmental Store always attracts customers

Departmental stores have attractive interior decoration and window display. They spend heavily on sales promotion. This is done through the advertising, discounts, special seasonal offers, gift schemes, festival offer, etc. 6. Departmental Store fulfill needs of most families Departmental store mainly satisfies needs of the rich and higher middle class group of the society. More attention is given to quality, choice, convenience and service rendered to the customer. 7. Departmental Store renders good customer service Departmental stores offer efficient customer services such as inspection of goods, actual demonstration of goods, convenient packages, provision for refreshment, reading rooms, home delivery, parking facility, etc. 8. Departmental Store has a high operational cost Departmental stores have to incur high expenses by way of rent, advertising, provisions of conveniences and facilities to its customers. Thus, costs of operation are high. 9. Departmental Store diffuses the risk of loss The losses made by one department of a departmental store can be compensated by profits earned by other departments. Thus, the risk of loss is diffused and hence reduced. Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. It must have more than 10 units under the same brand and have a central headquarters, otherwise it offers franchise contracts or is publicly traded. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses have come to dominate the market in many parts of the world. Chain stores are a form of franchising. The world's largest retail chain, Wal-Mart, became the world's largest corporation based on gross sales. Marks & Spencer has all these features of department stores which are mentioned above as they have various departments for each product category. They offer wide variety of goods under one roof so it can be considered as a department store. On the other hand, Marks & Spencer is a brand and share a central management and have standardized business methods and practices. They have many stores under the same brand name and have a central headquarter so they can even be considered as a Chain Store. 3

Chapter-3 Marketing Mix

3.1 Product categories M&S Products

Womens wear

Kids wear

Mens wear

Formals

Casuals

Formals

Casuals

Shirts

Trousers

Skirts

Shirts

Trousers

Suits

Ties

Shorts

Jeggings

Tops

Jeans

Polo T-shirts

Shorts

Quarter Sleeves

half sleeves

Tunics

Kurtis

Note- There was no kids section available in the store which I visited in the westgate mall, Rajouri Garden. 3.2 Prices They are premium brand offering medium price range to its target customers. Supporting its ambitious positioning, Marks & Spencer orders a premium pricing strategy. The prices at which the customers are expected to pay a best price for the products which fulfil their expectation of quality and modernization. From the very first day of inauguration when Marks & Spencer started its business, they had followed a value price strategy." Since Marks & Spencer has concentrated on middle class customers, they have continued value pricing strategy. In the beginning, most of their supplier have been from Britain, but know they also have suppliers form the under developing countries. Through its economies of scale in buying, Marks & Spencer has been able to require

manufacturers to stay to strict quality standards and to bargain lower prices for its customers. M&S Products

Womens wear

Kids wear

Mens wear

Formals

Casuals

Formals

Casuals

Shirts Trousers Skirts Rs.1995 Rs.2050 Rs.1500

Shirts Rs.1999

Trousers Suits Ties Rs.1899 Rs.5999 Rs.499

Shorts Rs.1299

Jeggings Rs. 1995

Tops

Jeans Rs. 1499

Polo T-shirts T-shirts Rs.899 Rs. 1295

Shorts Rs.1499

Quarter Sleeves Rs.1499

Half Sleeves Rs. 1499

Tunics Rs.1999

Kurtis Rs. 1195

3.3 Place The store which has been visited for this project is Marks & Spencer of Rajouri Garden,Delhi. There are 26 stores in India which are located in - Amritsar, Banglore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, Pune. There are 11 stores which are located in Delhi/Ncr region: Rohini, Saket, Vasan kunj, Moments Mall, Connaught Place, South Extention, Indira Gandhi Airport, Rajouri Garden, Ambience Mall- Gurgaon, DLF Gallaria- Gurgaon, Great India Place- Noida. Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. M&S tries to locate its stores on the Main streets of major cities particularly in Malls, claiming that it seeks to build critical mass around capital cities or across important conurbation. 3.4 Promotion 5

Marks and Spencer promotes within the store through offering various discount coupons, like there was a scheme going on in the store like 20% off for formal bottoms, Rs.100 or less on all sale merchandise after final clearance, 2 for rs.999 on polo t-shirts etc. They even promote through interior displays, window displays which was promotional in their case as they used props for their window display. They also promote through point of purchase by placing beauty products, Sun Shades and toiletries at the cashier desk. The sources through which they promote outside the store in order to attract the customers is: Promotion

Advertising

Outdoor Mobile Print Media Media - Bill Magazines Newspapers Boards -Your M&S - TOI - Virgin - Hindustan Times - Health & Beauty - Zoom Zoom

Direct Selling - Catalogue - Online Selling

Public Relation - Articles - Blogs

Sales Promotion - Offer discounts - Voucher Codes - Free delivery Codes

3.5 People/Personnel People are the most important element of any service or experience. This can develop by giving training, personal selling and customer services. M&S is a good employer, committed to making all their people feel valued and providing them with career opportunities and quality training. They introduced new career paths for store section managers and for the marketing team. They have people in the stores who act as coaches to train and support their less experienced staffs. Coming to store which has been visited, it was observed that customers were happy and very free to move in the stores. There was no sale person on the head of the customer like some of them irritate the customer a lot. The staff was highly qualified but less in number. They were sophisticatedly dressed up in their formal uniforms. They were 6

around the customers only so that they can help them out if they need. They were easy to find as they were in the reach of customers. Also the cashier was highly qualified and a very interactive person. He was advising his customers for various products by which customers felt satisfied. He was able to convince them. 3.6 Process/Presentation- Commenting on the visual merchandising of the store, the following information has been gathered: Store Front Very simply written with Dark green background and text written with bold light green in order to highlight the brand name.

Marquee

Push-Pull for full service

Entrance

Promotional as they only place mannequins

Window Display

Store Layout Selling Space Merchandising Space Trial room space 55,000 square feet 40,000 square feet 4 trial rooms each of 30 sq. feet Store Interiors Color Cream tiles and White walls White CFLs only

Lighting

Sensory Outputs

Slow Hollywood songs T-stands, Shelves used

Fixtures

Interior Displays

Open display located in each department from entrance, point of purchase near cashier, uses functional Props

Chapter-4 Conclusion and observation

The store which has been visited for doing this project is Marks & Spencer in Rajouri Garden, Delhi. The store has been visited thrice for observing its retailing process. It was a good learning and experience. The store is very well maintained and very attractive for customers. There was a huge variety of products in the store and everything was perfectly placed. The window display and interior was the most amazing thing which was to be noticed and everything present in the store was very well suited with its theme which the brand says. It is a very formal brand and it was being depicted through the store. The green marquee was well suited. Its colours, themes and ambience conveys simplicity in the store. There were more formal wears seen in the store. The visual merchandising and retailing mix was observed very well by me in the store which enhanced my learning.