Marks and Spencer 2009 Annual Report Download - page 37

33
125 YEARS OF VALUE
Below: Take the cake Sex and the City came to
the High Street in April with the launch of the M&S
cup cakes, which cost £2.99 for four. The range
of cakes was the result of extensive tasting and
research in New York.
125 YEARS OF INNOVATION
Below: The real McCoy We’re banishing the
misconception that lambrusco is cheap, fizzy and
flavourless, having dragged that 70s favourite into
fashion again. Derived from grapes grown by the
Medici family in the Emilia Romagna region of
northern Italy, our red lambrusco – Autentico-
Reggiano Lambrusco – is fuller in taste and goes
well with our meaty Italian range.
The ‘Wise Buys’ label is now on 500
everyday products – some 10% of our
food range – from staples such as milk
and eggs, to ready-meals such as
lasagne. The competitive prices
reassure our customers that they
can economise at M&S, without
compromising on quality.
As the credit crunch worsened, we
recognised that people were likely to dine
out less and instead eat more from home.
In anticipation of this trend we introduced
our ‘Dine in for two for £10’ promotion, where
customers can enjoy a restaurant-quality
three-course meal with wine. The success
of ‘Dine in’ is demonstrated by significant
increases in footfall from both regular and
occasional M&S customers. As a result we
continue to look at new variations on the
same theme to deliver something special
such as ‘Dine in for two for Valentine’s Day
at £20’, which included a red rose or the
‘Dine in for four for Mother’s Day at £15’.
Our business philosophy is that our
products should always be made with the
very best ingredients. So while we may
reduce the prices of products or deliver
unbeatable promotions, we will never
compromise on the quality of the product.
Service
Over the last few months we have improved
on-shelf availability by restructuring and
increasing the number of people in our
trading teams, so that there is a greater
focus on getting the right products to the
right stores, to meet customer demand.
We appreciate that every store is different
in terms of local customer preferences and
we need to make sure we accommodate
as many of these local tastes as possible.
However we still have significant work
to do, with much of our future capital
investment focused on system developments
to further improve on-shelf availability and
reduce food waste.
Delivering great service is about ensuring
customers have the right information to make
informed choices about the food they buy.
This was highlighted by the National
Consumer Council that recognised our
efforts to help customers make an informed
choice about their diet, using the front of
pack traffic light labelling on over 800 of our
products, or choosing to eat our healthier
options, identified by the Eat Well sunflower.
Great service is also about reformulating
product recipes to improve health and quality,
while reducing the levels of potentially harmful
or unhealthy ingredients. For example, by
working with the Hyperactive Children’s
Society we have already removed artificial
colours and flavours from all our children’s
product ranges. This was so well received
that we have extended this policy to cover
all of our food ranges, as well as removing
hydrogenated vegetable oils and continuing
to make significant reductions in salt levels.
We use only free range eggs whether they
are in their shells or as an ingredient in all our
other foods such as cakes and pasta.
In a significant step for the business,
we initiated a trial of 350 branded food
products in North East England in July 2008.
The decision comes in direct response to
customer feedback that they wanted the
convenience of picking up a jar of Marmite
or tube of toothpaste with their regular
M&S shop. The trial has been well received
by our customers and colleagues alike,
and was extended to 23 stores in the
South East to further gauge customer
reaction. Selling these products increases
customer convenience, and we plan to
update further on this trial later in 2009/10.
PROMOTIONS FOCUS: UK FOOD
WISE BUYS GREAT VALUE STAPLES
FAMILY FAVOURITES CLASSIC BRITISH FOOD
DINE IN A TREAT FOR TWO
BRAND FOCUS: UK FOOD
REGIONAL RANGES ITALIAN, INDIAN, CHINESE
COOK! SCRATCH COOKING
COOK ASIAN 1234 FRESH AND EASY
GASTROPUB HEARTY GOURMET FOOD
COUNT ON US TASTY HEALTHY OPTIONS