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The Marks & Spencer effect 1900-present

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Don't ask the price, it's a penny
Michael Marks arrived in Britain during the 1880s to escape the persecution of Jews in Russian Poland. In 1884 he set up a stall in Leeds' Kirkgate open market where he sold a range of household goods with a fixed price tag of one penny. With the support of local wholesaler, Isaac Dewhirst, two further penny bazaars were opened in Castleford and Wakefield followed by stalls in Warrington, Birkenhead, Bolton and Manchester. Signs were placed across the stalls reading 'Don't ask the price, it's a penny'.  More >>

Supplying Marks & Spencer
The late nineteenth and early twentieth century saw attempts by London warehouses to monopolise the supply of knitted goods to retailers. The formation of the Wholesale Textile Association in 1912 was designed to co-ordinate activities of warehouses and combine their power against manufacturers who tried to sell direct to retailers. Firms found to be dealing with retailers were blacklisted and their goods banned from warehouses in the WTA.  More >>

Changing the industry
Family control of the Marks & Spencer boardroom ended in 1984 when Marcus Sieff retired as chairman. The new chairman, Derek Raynor, broke with the past and brought new ideas to Marks & Spencer. In the 1980s there was a lull in the performance of the company due to growing competition from fashion chain stores. Consumer demand became more diverse and hard to please, demanding small runs of products that sold before fashions changed. Marks & Spencer needed to respond to this situation to maintain its position.  More >>

Difficult times for Marks & Spencer
In the 1980s high street competition intensified for Marks & Spencer. Companies like Next took customers away and forced Marks & Spencer to look at how it could change to compete in this new environment. By the mid-1990s, Marks & Spencer directors had turned the business around and it reached profits of over one billion pounds a year. It was estimated that the company still bought 75% of the UK domestic textile production in 1995. Other fashion chain stores bought as little as 14% of their supplies from British companies. The success or failure of Marks & Spencer was critical to the prosperity of the British knitting industry.  More >>