Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) chairman, Archie Norman, recently revealed the company’s goal of becoming a ‘global brand’ and hinted at ambitions to go international.
Archie Norman, Chairman, Marks & Spencer said, “We would like Marks & Spencer to be here for another 100 years, but to do that it has ultimately got to become a global brand.”
Norman pointed out that this kind of approach would probably come after its current turnaround phase, which appears to be starting to show results.
Pre-tax profits rose to 360.2 million pounds for the company in the first half of 2023, as sales of clothing and houses jumped by 5.7 percent and like-for-like sales improved by 5.5 percent. Pre-tax earnings increased to 360.2 million pounds for the first half of 2023 for the company, with like-for-like sales up 5.5 percent and clothes and house sales up 5.7 percent.
Its overseas sales increased by 11% to 1.1 billion pounds in the meantime, with the Republic of Ireland accounting for 25% of this income.
The product’s strongest markets were identified as being India and Europe. These markets are served by partnered retailers, many of whom receive assistance from a recently established distribution center in Croatia.
However, come a few years after Marks & Spencer’s most recent attempt—a business that had not previously proven successful—to establish an overseas presence, Norman’s comments.
In 2016, Marks & Spencer decided, out of about ten countries due to poor sales at several of its flagship stores and the purchase of Brooks Brothers in the United States.