The Company

In 1926 Marks & Spencer adopted at the time revolutionary policy of buying direct from manufacturers, thus bypassing whole sellers. In 1903 the company floated on the stock market and today has almost 308 000 shareholders. In 1928 the “St. Michael” trading brand was introduced in honour of the company’s co-founder and all the company’s goods have been sold exclusively under this brand ever since. In 1930 Marks & Spencer opened its largest department store at Marble Arch in London which remains the company’s flagship store to this day. Marks & Spencer is the third biggest food seller and the biggest clothes seller in Great Britain.
In 1934 the company set up its own laboratory for scientific development of new materials with the objective of improving the quality of their goods. In 1948 the food self-service shop was started. Marks & Spencer was the first retail chain ever to introduce the expiry date on its goods.
The company’s expansion continued outside the United Kingdom as well. In 1975 the first department store in continental Europe was opened in Paris and the first two department stores in Hong Kong followed in 1988.
In 1986 Marks & Spencer opened their first suburban store. Up until then all their stores had operated in the busiest parts of city centres only.
The first Marks & Spencer store in the Czech Republic opened its doors on 15th October 1996 in the Myslbek shopping gallery.