Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a major British retailer, with over 840 stores in more than 30 countries around the world, over 600 domestic and 285 international. It is the largest clothing retailer in the United Kingdom, as well as being a food retailer, and as of 2008, the 43rd largest retailer in the world. Most of its domestic stores sell both clothing and food, and since the turn of the century it has started expanding into other ranges such as homewares, furniture and technology.

In 1998 it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion, though a few years later it plunged into a crisis which lasted for several years. After fostering significant growth in recent years, mid 2008 has seen share prices plunge, worth well under 50% their value of twelve months before, as M&S struggles to cope with more conservative shoppers amidst the credit crunch. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

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