What It Does: Mark and Spencers sell various products, such as beauty & cosmetic products, food products, and clothes. This company is also involved in automated technology, food delivery, and e-commerce.
Mission: The company’s mission is to ensure that products of aspirational quality are accessible to everyone.
Size and Presence: Marks and Spencers employ thousands of people across more than 900 stores in the UK.
Best Known For: Mark and Spencers are best known as a parent company to brands such as Good move, Rosie, M&S Energy, Per Una, Autograph, M&S Collection, Blue Harbour, Boutique, and Jaeger. This company has also won numerous awards, such as the Best Performing Retailer in the UK (2013) and a Special Recognition Award (2021).
The Good Bits: It's an excellent company for launching your career in the retail industry. The company offers good benefits to its employees. The work is exciting.
The Not-So-Good Bits: Promotions don’t come often.
The history of this retail giant can be traced to 1894 when Micheal Marks established a stall in Leeds and invited Thomas Spencer, a bookkeeper, to be his business partner. In 1901, they merged their businesses in the Birkenhead open market, where they opened a penny bazaar. They relocated their penny bazaar business to Manchester, and they established market stalls in other locations across the Northwestern part of England. Marks and Spencers began to establish a reputation in the early 20th century as a seller of goods that were exclusively manufactured in Britain. Towards the end of the 20th century, the company relaxed their selling policy.
In 1963, the company improved its energy efficiency by using thermostat-controlled refrigerators to store and preserve food products. In 1973, the company expanded into Canada. This company introduced the sale of Asian food products in 1974 and started expanding within Europe the following year. In the late 90s, the company made moves to modernise its business and increase its customer base. In 1988, the company was divested by acquiring a clothing company as well as a food chain. All efforts to improve business in Canada failed, and the company shut down its operations there in 1999. Earlier this year, Marks and Spencers purchased a logistics company for £145 million. Today, this retail chain is one of the most widespread and prominent retail businesses in the world.
This company’s culture is centred on customer service. Its core values include Trust, Innovation, Quality, Value, and Service. However, the company is also employee-centric as well, and it considers the views of its employees regarding what can be done to improve the quality of service to its customers. The company also inculcates fairness in its work practices by embracing diversity in its workforce. At Marks and Spencers, what the employee has to offer matters more than their race, religion, political affiliations, perspectives, gender, sexuality, or creed. There's also a colleague network within the ranks which serves as a support system for the employees. Collaboration is ever-present when there's a need for it, and the exciting work atmosphere makes the freshers and interns feel at ease. The company’s dress code is smart casual.
Marks and Spencers are interested in the growth of their employees, and they created the platform needed for that. New intakes (freshers and interns) can learn on-the-job, and they have the opportunity to enrol in a unique development scheme. The company's graduate program offers masterclass training, mentorship and 360 feedback. The internships and industrial placements give interns a chance to make an impact in the organisation and discover their potential. The School Leaver program gives students a chance to receive academic training and gain practical employment experience.
Suitable applicants have to go through a series of interviews for behavioural and competency-based evaluation. Then, the company carries out a background check on successful candidates before offering them the job.
Marks and Spencers pays its fresh graduates £25,000 annually.
Marks and Spencers consistently give financial aid to numerous charities in the UK.
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