Marks and Spencer 2012 Annual Report Download - page 9

Overview Marks and Spencer Group plc
Overview Strategic review Financial review Governance Financial statements and other information
Annual report and financial statements 2012 07
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How we create value for our shareholders
Customer
Delighting customers
with innovative,
‘Only at Your M&S’
products, supported by
an easy and enjoyable
shopping experience
across all our channels.
Financial
Driving profitable
growth through
increased sales and
effective cost and
margin management.
Ways of working
Delivering continuous
improvement across
all operations –
underpinned by our
Plan A commitment to
drive sustainability.
People
Engaging employees
in our plans and
ensuring we have the
right people to deliver
our growth ambitions.
How M&S creates value
for its shareholders
Your M&S
Customers are at the heart of our
business and through our Customer
Insight Unit, we ensure their needs are
recognised in all our business
decisions. Through a combination of
focus groups and consumer research
we are in touch with over 17,000
customers every month, helping us
anticipate their needs.
What we offer
Our longstanding history of innovation
helps us lead the way with first-to-
market products across food, fashion
and homeware. We are the UK’s leading
clothing retailer and offer high-quality
food, with a focus on freshness,
convenience and speciality. As an
own-brand retailer our products are
unique and we further differentiate our
offer through exclusive collaborations
and a careful selection of the very best
international food brands.
Reaching our customers
Our products are sold through 731 UK
stores and 387 internationally. Over
93% of the UK population is within in a
30-minute drive of a full line M&S store
and our franchise partnerships ensure
our Simply Food offer is available in the
most convenient locations – from
railway stations to motorway services.
Our fully mobile-enabled website makes
M&S accessible 24/7 and we’re
combining the best of web and store
service, as well as offering new
channels, to make it even easier to
shop with M&S.
Investing in our people
We continually engage and involve our
people in our plans to ensure they fully
understand the vital role they each play.
We communicate with our employees
across a range of channels and
measure engagement annually. From
the Board down, we are focused on
developing leadership and future talent
to secure strong succession and deliver
our growth ambitions.
Innovative ways of working
Across the business we promote a
culture of continuous improvement –
encouraging employees and our
suppliers to find new, more efficient ways
of doing things. We have an ongoing
programme to restructure our supply
chain – implementing new systems and
improving our operational execution.
Underpinning this is our commitment to
Plan A – creating a sustainable business
model for the long term.
Protecting Your M&S
Protecting the business from both
operational and reputational risk is an
essential part of our Board’s role. We
take a holistic view of the risks facing
M&S – both now and in the future – by
considering external competitor and
economic factors, our core operations,
key business change activity, as well as
emerging future risks. Action plans to
address these risks are in place across
the business to help ensure our
long-term sustainable growth. Details of
our risk management and mitigation
plans are outlined on page 46 of our
Accountability section.
Over the last 128 years M&S has grown from a market stall to a multi-channel
retailer with over 1,100 stores worldwide, employing more than 81,000 people.
We remain true to our founding values of Quality, Value, Service, Innovation and
Trust – ensuring our offer continues to be relevant to our customers. Our own
brand model sets us apart from the competition – delivering ‘Only at Your M&S’
food, fashion and homeware to our customers.