Question

Analyze the weaknesses and threats on the demand side of M&S

Answer 1

The weakness on the demand side of M&S can be attributed to the fact that the company had an outdated business model which it did not overhaul and change and due to this M&S missed out on the retail revolution that took place. Its ‘Buy British’ policy made it highly rigid and this affected its agility significantly. It was not able to base its buying decisions on the basis of results from the tills and hence it ignored what consumers were buying and demanding. M&S was stuck in the past and this along with other factors like not providing loyalty cards also contributed to the weakness on the demand side.

With regards to the threats on the demand side M&S faced the threat of aggressive competition from other players like Gap, Hennes etc. M&S, due to its lack of flexibility, was not able to respond to the competitive challenge. Changing demographics was another tangible threat for M&S on the demand side.