Publications
Publications
- September 1994
- HBS Case Collection
Marks & Spencer: Sir Richard Greenbury's Quiet Revolution
By: Joseph L. Bower and John B. Matthews Jr.
Abstract
Marks & Spencer (M&S) is one of the world's greatest companies. In 1994, its management was chosen the most admired in Europe by 637 peers. The case explores how Sir Richard Greenbury, appointed the new chairman of the company in 1991, transformed his inheritance into a more profitable, more decentralized, and more international organization with minimal trauma. The case makes clear that M&S has built a complex of centralized capabilities in its London offices that relate seamlessly to the relatively compact distributed network of U.S. stores and increasingly concentrated U.S. suppliers. The challenge facing the managers in 1994 is how to adopt this management capability to the increasingly global spread of their stores--owned and franchised. Can there be an international retailer? The case suggests that there can be if managers can figure out how to implement the strategy at the same high level that they have achieved to date.
Keywords
Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Management Teams; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Europe; United States
Citation
Bower, Joseph L., and John B. Matthews Jr. "Marks & Spencer: Sir Richard Greenbury's Quiet Revolution." Harvard Business School Case 395-054, September 1994.
