U.K.'s largest clothing retailer. Established presence in the U.K. food retail market, albeit with bias toward price-sensitive convenience offering. Well-recognized brand with an emphasis on quality and innovation. Fashion-oriented, highly competitive, and seasonal nature of the U.K. apparel retail market exposes the company to volatility in operating performance. Discretionary nature of clothing spending. Financial policy that focuses on delivering shareholder value. The ratings on Marks&Spencer PLC (M&S) reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view of the company's satisfactory business risk profile. This is supported by M&S's position as the U.K.'s largest clothing retailer, as well as its established presence in the U.K. food retail market, which benefits from the nondiscretionary nature of food spending. In addition, the M&S
