initial designs

Economic so far

Economic:

* Stage of business cycle.
* Current and projected economic growth, inflation and interest rates.
* Unemployment and labor supply.
* Labor costs.
* Levels of disposable income and income distribution.



http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=192

GPD (Gross Domestic Product ) by 0.8% in the Q3 of 2010




http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=19

Inflation

Government inflation set at 3.3


# clothing and footwear where prices, overall, rose by 2.0 per cent on the month (a record for an October to November period) compared with a rise of 0.6 per cent a year ago. The main upward pressure came from garments, particularly men’s outerwear

As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate in October was above the provisional figure for the European Union. The UK rate was
3.2 per cent whereas the EU’s as a whole was 2.3 per cent.





Unemployment rate
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to September 2010 was 70.8 per cent, up 0.3 on the quarter.
The total number of unemployed people fell by 9,000 over the quarter to reach 2.45 million, although the number of people unemployed for up to six months increased by 21,000 on the quarter to reach 1.18 million.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (the claimant count) fell by 3,700 between September and October 2010 to reach 1.47 million, although the number of people claiming for up to six months increased by 10,400 to reach 943,900

The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to September 2010 was 23.2 per cent, down 0.2 on the quarter. The number of inactive people aged from 16 to 64 fell by 83,000 over the quarter to reach 9.27 million

The number of vacancies for the three months to October 2010 was 453,000, down 27,000 over the quarter. The sector showing the largest quarterly fall was education where the number of vacancies fell by 10,000 to reach 31,000.

The earnings annual growth rate for total pay (including bonuses) was 2.0 per cent for the three months to September 2010, up from 1.7 per cent for the three months to August. The earnings annual growth rate for regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 2.2 per cent for the three months to September 2010, up from 2.0 per cent for the three months to August.



Minimum wage

* £5.93 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
* £4.92 - the 18-20 rate
* £3.64 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
* £2.50 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship


Levels of disposable income

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=334

riginal income, before taxes and benefits, of the top fifth of households in the UK was approximately 15 times greater than that for the bottom fifth (£73,800 per household per year compared with £5,000). After redistribution through taxes and benefits, the ratio between the top and bottom fifths is reduced to four-to-one (average final income of £53,900 compared to £13,600).


Households with lower incomes tend to receive more benefits in kind from the state (£6,300 for the bottom fifth compared with £3,900 for the top fifth). Retired households are the biggest users of health services provided by the state, while households with children are the biggest users of education services. These two groups are more likely to be in the lower income groups.

the top fifth of households paid 24 per cent of their gross income in direct tax while the bottom fifth paid 11 per cent.

Pestle - Political

Collaborative

Pestle Analysis – Political Section

The political side of Marks and Spencer could affect clothing in a vast amount of ways. When looking at the ‘Per Una’ range, some aspects that may arise could cause disruption and have an impact on the production and manufacturing stages as well as the sales in retail.

Marks and Spencer have their own strong policies when it comes to trading. Since 1999, they have been part of an organisation known as ‘Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)’. http://www.Corporate.marksandspencer.com

M and S believe in fair partnerships with their suppliers and others within their supply chain. Providing M and S keep their prices fair and ethical as promised, the company has more of a chance of keeping things in good working order.

Marks and Spencer are becoming renowned for their political trends ensuring that they meet the criteria for the recovery of the economy. Some of these key trends are:

·         Health

·         Sustainability

·         Climate Change

·         Ethical Trading

By following government policies, M and S are able to meet the demands to encourage healthy lifestyles from schemes such as:

·         Natural enrichment

·         Nutritional enrichment

·         Healthy eating advisers

·         Health campaigns

·         Diet and health information

·         Lifestyle information

(pg 42) http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/publications/2010/How_We_Do_Business_Report_2010

Other government policies that may affect Sales in the M and S ‘Per Una’ collection could be the rise in VAT; up to 20% from 17.5% from 4^th January 2011.

‘An awareness of the methodology and key indicators within the cycle of a terrorist attack is paramount to competently prepare, prevent and respond to such acts. These key concepts are delivered by Rutherford Training Consultants through a partnership of continual progressive improvement with industry stakeholders.’

http://www.rutherfordsecurity.co.uk/terror_awareness.pdfAnother aspect to consider is terrorism as terror threats become more frequent, manufacture and the importation of products from abroad could be delayed. Marks and Spencer could take action from training courses that could prepare them in extreme cases.

With stakeholder expectations on the rise for an overall eco friendly system, Marks and Spencer have pushed ahead to meet targets in their business using a ‘Plan A’ strategy; which helps to maintain their goals for sustainable society. M and S take control of their business by using the views of their stakeholders. M and S state in their report, ‘The views of our stakeholders – customers, shareholders, employees and suppliers guide our policies’.

Design specifications - Jeans, Blouse & Cardigan

New Board

Pestle – environmental

M & S make strenuous effects to make the majority of their products fair-trade, sustainable and of course environmentally friendly. Hey produce environmentally friendly textiles dyes for their clothes range as well as offering clothing lines made from fair-trade cotton.

The Plan A initiative was launched a few years ago to increase the environmental sustainability of the business within 5 years ( www.wikipedia.com ) they had 5 main aims to be successful by 2012. These were

·         Become carbon neutral

·         No waste to landfill

·         Extend sustainable sourcing

·         Improve the lives of people in the supply chain

·         Customers and employees live a healthier life cycle

On plan for the Plan A sustainable raw materials for 2012:

Sustainable textiles

·         New ways of producing fibres like cotton, linen and wool.

·         Trialling new fibres to reduce environmental impact of the textiles

Cotton

·         Launching a sustainability strategy covering all their cotton including initiatives such as fair-trade and organic.

M & S are known worldwide for being one of the largest retail users of cotton and so they want to improve its environmental and social standards in its production. They were the first major UK clothing retailer to launch organic wool and linen garments.

On this plan M & S had to achieve man made materials such as making polyester from recycled plastics rather than using oil. This has then since been achieved and they’ve increased the proportion of dyehouses covered by recent environmental and health and safety audits. (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/roadmaps/documents/ms0910-case-study.pdf )

As they now use the recycled polyester on some of their garments from waste bottle customers have responded positively towards this and around 300,000 have been sold from these recycled bottles. (http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/howwedobusiness/our_policies/sustainable_raw_materials/sustainable_processes  )

Since launching the Plan A project in 2007, M & S are setting themselves an ambitious target of becoming the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015. ( http://www.actionsustainability.com/news/273/MS-extends-Plan-A-sustainable-sourcing-commitments/ )

The brown, reusable bag was introduced to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags and a year later they put a charge of 5p on the plastic bags which at the time customers were not happy, but this was the only way to encourage customers to use reusable bags.

In 1999 M & S developed a set of Global Sourcing Principles which sets out requirements for suppliers to abide by. These include:

·         Working hours and conditions

·         Health and safety

·         Rates of pay

·         Minimum age of employment

per una Product Comparison

COATS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION

£69.50 100% Polyester

£69.50 86% Polyester, 14% Viscose

£120.00 37% Wool, 35% Acrylic, 18% Polyester, 9% Polyamide, 1% Cotton

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Single Breasted Notch Lapel Belted Mac [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Single Breasted Water Repellent Belted Mac [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Single Breasted Ombre Coat with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
JEANS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£29.50 98% Cotton, 2% Elastane
£29.50 99% Cotton, 1% Elastane
£29.50 76% Cotton, 21% Polyester, 3% Elastane

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Cotton Rich Straight Leg Diamante Jeans [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Cotton Rich Bootcut Jeans [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Cotton Rich Bootcut Jeans with Belt [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010];.

DRESSES PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£160.00 50% Acetate, 30% Silk, 20% Viscose
£49.50 90% Acrylic, 8.5% Polyester, 1.5% Elastane

Lining: 100% Polyester
£175.00 48% Acrylic, 24% Wool, 15% Polyester, 7% Mohair, 6% Metallised Fibres

Lining: 100% Polyester
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Chiffon Sequin Dress with Silk [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Slash Neck Bow Shift Dress [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Cowl Neck Shimmer Dress with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
BLOUSES PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£39.50 100% Silk

Camisole: 95% Viscose, 5% Elastane
£35.00 100% polyester
£29.50 100% Polyester

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Pure Silk Ruffle Blouse with Camisole [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una ¾ Sleeve Appliqué Chiffon Frill Blouse [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Open Neck Leopard Print Ruffle Shirt [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].


TROUSERS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£29.50 70% Viscose, 30% Polyester
£49.50 50% Polyester, 31% Wool, 18% Viscose, 1% Elastane
£29.50 63% Polyester, 33% Viscose, 4% Elastane
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Wide Leg Diamante Trousers [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Roma Wide Leg Trousers with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Double Buckle Bootcut Trousers [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
CARDIGANS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£45.00 43% Cotton, 41% Viscose, 16% Wool

Trim: 100% Polyester
£35.00 100% Acrylic
£35.00 87% Acrylic, 13% Polyester

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Open Front Cardigan with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Long Sleeve Open Front Cardigan [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Open Front Multi stripe Cardigan [online image] Available at: Accessed 5th December 2010].