Marks & Spencer Company Profile
Marks & Spencer is a leading British retailer bringing food, clothing and homeware to millions of customers around the world. The company was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer, making it 138 years-old as of 2022. It was set up in Kirkgate Market in Leeds through the Penny Bazaar chain, but soon expanded across the UK thanks to investment in staff and property. In 1998, it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion. It returned to its historic Kirkgate Market location in March 2013, when it opened a stall in the same place as the original stall all those years ago. As of 2021, the company operated across 57 countries with more than 50 international websites. The key individuals of the retail giant include Archie Norman (chairman) and Steve Rowe (chief executive). However, in March 2022 it was announced that Rowe would be stepping down in May after six years in the role and would be succeeded by Stuart Machin and Katie Bickerstaffe, who will act as co-chief executives. As well as the main offices in London, there are a number of other head office sites across the UK including Stockley Park (IT Services), Salford Quays (Marks & Spencer Shared Services which provides human resources, and finance administration) and Chester (HSBC's M&S Money and Retail Customer Services). Notable affiliated brands include Per Una, Autograph, Goodmove, Jaeger and Blue Harbour. The retailer also has an online grocery delivery service operated through a joint venture with Ocado. Products and services include:- Meat, fish, poultry, deli
- Fresh produce and flowers
- Grocery and household
- Frozen food
- Bakeries, on the move food, prepared meals
- Hospitality
- Clothing
- Home and beauty
- M&S Bank (operated by HSBC UK)
- M&S Energy (operated by Octopus Energy)
- M&S Opticians (operated by Owl Optical)
Stores
M&S has has 959 stores across the UK, although 615 of these only sell food products. It also has 472 international stores. The business serves a total of nearly 30 million customers each year. Stores have many different formats, including full line, food halls, home stores, outlet stores and standalone M&S food shops.
Employees
M&S has around 70,000 employees on average throughout the year. 58,946 of these work in UK stores and 3,697 are based in the retailer's head office. Just over 7,000 work in operations, with 5,579 of these working overseas. Of its total employees, 48,727 are female and 20,850 are male.
Head office
The M&S head office is located in London. The address is as follows:
Marks and Spencer Group plc, Waterside House, 35 North Wharf Road, London.
Financials
M&S is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the abbreviation MKS. It is also a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. There are no majority shareholders or any stakeholders holding above 6% stake in the company. There are just under 2 billion shares, trading at around 163, giving a total market cap of £3.23bn.
Year to 3 April 2021
Revenue: £9.1557 billion
Pre-Tax Loss: £209.4 million
Year to 28 March 2020
Revenue: £10.1819 billion
Pre-Tax Profit: £403.1 million
Contact information
M&S can be contacted via phone and email at its London head office.
- Tel: 020 7935 4422
- Email: corporate.press@marks-and-spencer.com
