All about Mark and Spencer Plan

Marks and Spencer was formed in 1884 by Michael Marks. He opened a market stall in Leeds, with the slogan don t ask the price, it s a penny . In 1894 Marks went into a partnership with Thomas Spencer. Ten years later they opened their first shop in Leeds. The story of success continued and today Marks and Spencer pic is a major British retailer. The pic has cmrently 703 stores in the United Kingdom and 361 stores among 40 countries. The company stopped their businesses in Germany in 2001, as they wanted to concentrate mainly on the home market. 

When Marc Bolland, the new chief executive of Marks and Spencer, unveiled his long-awaited strategic blueprint last autumn, he could have quietly ditched the high street group s ambitious plan to become Britain s greenest retailer. 

Instead, he declared that Plan A - a set of 180 enviromnental commitments - was an integral part of our business [and] an integral part of the brand . Plan A dates back to 2006, when Sir Stuart Rose, chief executive at the time, decided that the retailer needed to go beyond traditional corporate social responsibility, in which M S had a rich heritage. 

Environmental issues were coming to the fore, while customers were becoming sceptical about the claims that big businesses were making. To move forward and stay one step ahead of customer demands. Sir Stuart believed that M S should become a green business. 

Mike Bany, head of sustainable business at M S, says Sir Stuart saw that part of oin retail battlegroimd will be in being a sustainable brand . Barry was tasked with translating Sir Stuart s vision into a set of firm principles, and after three months of working with a small team. Plan A - because there is no plan B - was bom. It took the form of a comprehensive set of commitments to becoming a more sustainable business. 

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