Marks and Spencer 2012 Annual Report Download - page 30

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 30 of the 2012 Marks and Spencer annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 116

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116

Marks and Spencer Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2012 28Strategic review
International
Plan A: UNICEF hanger
recycling
We added a new angle to our
hanger recycling by donating
57p for each box of hangers
we recycle to UNICEF, the
world’s leading children’s
charity. This funds a
three-year programme
designed to reach the
poorest communities in
Mymensingh and Dhaka,
Bangladesh, improving
children’s lives by providing
health care, access to clean
water and an education.
Our International business continued to grow, with sales up 5.8% to £1.1bn.
This year we added 26 stores to our portfolio and entered new markets, giving
us a total of 387 stores across 43 territories. We also established a new
organisational structure to help us deliver our growth plans. Led by skilled
international retailers, the team now combines M&S experience and fresh
talent to spread new ideas and best practice across the business.
street stores at Connaught Place and
South Extension in Delhi. These flagship
locations help build awareness of the
M&S brand, complementing our existing
mall offer.
Our franchise operations are central to
our international plans (see opposite),
and this year we opened 24 new stores
with our 18 global franchise partners.
With our partner Fiba, we’ve opened
eight new Russian stores; expanding
in key locations such as Moscow and
new cities including Kazan. Working
alongside Al-Futtaim, we grew our
Middle East presence – opening five
stores including a second store in Cairo,
Egypt and three in the UAE.
In difficult trading environments we
managed our costs tightly and took the
difficult decision to close four stores
across Greece and Eastern Europe.
After identifying operational issues in our
Czech business, we responded quickly
taking full management control of the
business (opposite).
In November we returned to the French
market, with a clear ‘bricks and clicks’
strategy (opposite). This approach is
central to our international expansion,
both in existing and new markets;
enabling us to combine stores, the web
and digital technologies to tailor our
channels for the way customers shop
and quickly extend the reach of our
brand. For example, we increased the
product offer of our 1,400 sq m Paris
store by adding touch screen browse
and order points.
Actions against our plan
Growing International sales
Building a more international company
Growing in our priority markets and
entering new markets with a ‘bricks and
clicks’ approach
Building a more international
company
This year we put in place a new
structure – dividing the business into
three regions; Europe, Asia and the
Middle East. We appointed a director to
lead each region, supported by a head
of business development to drive new
market growth. We also created an
international visual merchandising team
(opposite) to ensure M&S customers
have a more consistent brand
experience wherever they are.
We are operating as a more
international business, having integrated
international marketing and buying into
the core teams. By using in-country
knowledge and expertise, alongside
local sourcing, we are delivering a more
appropriate offer for each local market.
Priority markets
We are focused on the clear growth
opportunities in our existing territories:
China, India, Russia and the Middle
East. Concentrated in the Shanghai
region, our Chinese stores continued
to perform strongly and we now have
seven stores, having opened three this
year. Working with our partner Reliance
Retail, we accelerated growth in India
to give us 25 stores in total. We added
six new stores, including our first high
Looking ahead
With a new structure
embedded, our priority is
to grow our International
business. We will
continue to expand our
presence in priority
markets and work with
existing partners to enter
new markets with a
clearly defined business
plan. We will build
awareness of the M&S
brand with tailored
marketing campaigns and
will roll out our new store
format across our
international portfolio.
International revenue
£1.1bn
Stores
387
Territories
43
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS