Marks and Spencer 2012 Annual Report Download - page 25

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Strategic review
Focus on the UK
Marks and Spencer Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2012 23
Overview Strategic review Financial review Governance Financial statements and other information
Operations
We introduced our ‘Customer Ready
Food’ initiative in all our stores during the
summer. Our Food Halls now include
zoned areas, which are ‘owned’ by
employees on the shop floor. Employees
are responsible for ensuring their section
remains visually appealing and well
stocked and their improved product
knowledge allows them to offer more
help to customers. Along with other
measures, the initiative has contributed
to a reduction in net waste of 10%.
Our ongoing investment in new IT
systems continued to improve on-shelf
availability. We also made better use of
available space to improve choice and
redesigned our packaging, making it
easier for customers to identify and
select from the appropriate range.
and November. We responded to the
latest culinary trends, such as specialist
poultry, and were the first high street
retailer to provide free-range guinea
fowl, as well as British-bred poussin.
This year we also offered more choice,
with the aim of encouraging our regular
customers to do more of their weekly
shop with us. We conducted extensive
research during the year – both online
and in stores – to understand exactly
what our customers wanted. As a
result, we increased our core product
catalogue by 1,000 lines. Among these
were larger value packs for family
shoppers, such as double concentrate
fruit squash and 1kg bags of pasta, as
well as a greater selection of scratch
cooking ingredients.
Though budgets were stretched,
customers didn’t want to cut back on
quality. This year we highlighted our
great value through bigger, higher
impact promotions. Now in its fourth
year, our iconic Dine In promotion
continued to increase in popularity, up
10% on last year. In February, we
adapted the popular format with a
traditional meal deal – offering a hearty
main course such as Salmon en Croute,
a potato side and a prepared vegetable
dish all for £5. Customers responded
well to the genuine value of the offer
and we sold over 940,000 meals.
In addition to our promotional activity,
we run weekly price checks against the
competition to ensure our everyday
products remain competitive. With value
front of mind for our customers, we
introduced Simply M&S, a range of over
500 products that highlights M&S
quality at great everyday prices.
Available in store since May 2012, we
plan to extend the range further in the
year ahead.
Innovation and choice
Customers come to M&S because they
know they’ll find something different
each time they shop with us. We
continued to lead the market with
innovative new products and this year
we introduced some 1,900 new lines.
Our food innovation provided
convenient solutions to help time-
pressed customers entertain and
impress. In the autumn we launched the
Dessert Menu range including show-
stopper creations such as the Tarte aux
Abricots and traditional favourites like
the Profiterole Stack. Since launch it
has become the number one chilled
dessert brand in the UK. For the festive
season, we made it easier for
customers to entertain at home, with a
new quick-cook turkey and a record 59
party food options. In the run-up to
Christmas, we had our best ever week
for party food, selling 2.3 million packs.
We worked closely with our suppliers
during the year to deliver more
innovation in quality produce. We
launched the UK’s first ever ‘reverse
season’ British-grown asparagus,
developed with grower John Chinn in
the Wye Valley, which was available
exclusively in M&S between September
Healthy eating ranges
We promoted healthy
eating through count on
us™ and Simply Fuller
Longer: now the top two
health brands in the UK
market. We listened to our
customers and introduced
new additions to both these
ranges during the year,
keeping the menus fresh
and appealing.
Award winning quality
The exceptional quality
of our food was
acknowledged by
numerous awards this
year. This includes the
best non-vintage
Champagne for M&S
Herbert Beaufort Brut at
both the Decanter World
Wine Awards 2011 and
the International Wine
Challenge 2011.
Health
Looking ahead
2012/13 shows every sign of
being another challenging year
for food retailers. Customer
spending will remain cautious
and carefully planned. We will
continue to build on our existing
strengths and deliver more of
what our customers expect from
us: the highest quality food, an
inspiring shopping experience,
great product innovation and
clear, stand-out value.
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