Marks and Spencer 2009 Annual Report Download - page 38

34 Marks and Spencer Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2009 Directors’ report
125 YEARS OF VALUE
Right: Flower power Our M&S serene bouquet for
£35 was rated the number one choice for Mother’s
Day by consumer watchdog Which.co.uk
125 YEARS OF INNOVATION
Below: Free range pasta Our new Italian range
sticks to those values that our customers expect
from us, such as using free-range eggs in our pasta
and substituting fresh local UK produce wherever
possible.
Core UK business:
Food continued
125 YEARS OF TRUST
Below: Say cheese! M&S won more than
400 dairy awards in 2008/09 including seven
gold awards at the prestigious Nantwich
Cheese Show.
125 YEARS OF M&S
Above: Food for thought We are celebrating
our 125th anniversary with a collection of forgotten
favourites – perfect for afternoon tea. Customers
can enjoy a slice of classic cakes such as Madeira
and Cherry Genoa and a cup of special blend Gold
Label tea.
Innovation
Innovation is fundamental to our Food
strategy. We want to excite our customers
with new products and ranges, and
encourage them to come back time and
time again.
In October 2008 we relaunched our Italian
range, a clear example of M&S innovation
at its best. Our team travelled to Italy to
create the new range, which draws on local
expertise, uses more authentic ingredients,
and goes back to traditional cooking methods
and recipes. The relaunch has been a great
success with average growth of 15% on
the year.
In March 2009 we launched two major
innovations: Cook Asian 1234 and Bakery
Cup Cakes. Both of these ranges are first to
the market and are showing impressive early
sales. Such is our confidence in these ranges
that they have featured heavily in our recent
television and poster advertising campaigns
as great examples of all that is good in our
Food business.
We have long held a reputation for
innovation, by improving on classic recipes
as well as developing new ingredients.
Our Chopin potatoes are a great example of
this. We developed this new variety of potato
to be naturally creamy in flavour, reducing the
need to add butter, and securing it ‘Product
of the Year’ at the Annual Produce Grower
of the Year Awards.
Trust
The awards we have won in 2008/09 are a
testament to the quality of our product, the
consistency with which we approach our
Food business, and therefore the trust our
customers place in us.
For example we won the ‘2008 RSPCA
Good Business Award’ for food and the
‘2008 Compassion in World Farming
Compassionate Supermarket of the Year
Award’, for our commitment to animal
welfare.
It is important that our customers trust
M&S which is why we are as transparent as
possible in our business dealings and our
interaction with customers. This goes to the
heart of what we do; from clearly labelling
our healthy eating products and nutritional
content of our products, to our supplier
relationships. We have established an
in-house ethical supplier exchange where
we have trained over 1,000 suppliers on
our ethical standards.
We continue to support farmers with the
M&S Milk Pledge, which in addition to paying
farmers a fixed and industry leading price for
their milk, rewards them for good performance
on animal welfare. We have extended this
pledge to our lamb farmers and are working
to extend to farmers in other markets as
quickly as possible.
Looking ahead
Listening to our customers and responding
to their needs is central to our Food strategy.
Our renewed focus on our five principles
of Quality, Value, Service, Innovation and
Trust will enable us to build on the progress
made in the second half of 2008/09. We are
confident that we can strengthen our position
as the most trusted food retailer offering the
highest quality food, representing excellent
value for money for our customers.