Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Marks & Spencer PLC, one of the largest British retail clothing and food companies. Headquarters of the firm are in London.
Marks & Spencer started in 1884 as a stall in an open market in Leeds, Yorkshire. Then known as Marksâ Penny Bazaar, it was the household goods, haberdashery, toy, and sheet-music business of Michael Marks, a Jewish refugee from Poland. His sign read âDonât ask the priceâitâs a penny.â In 1894 he took Thomas Spencer as a business partner. Marksâs son Simon transformed the business from a number of outdoor stalls in various markets in northern England to a number of indoor shops, and he launched the companyâs St. Michael brand nameâa popular label for decades. In 1988 the parent firm, Marks and Spencer Group PLC, purchased Brooks Brothers, the oldest U.S. clothing retailer, but it sold that division in 2001. By this time the company operated more than 300 retail outlets in the United Kingdomâknown colloquially as âMarks and Sparksââwith additional stores in dozens of other countries, including France, Germany, Spain, and Hong Kong; a decade later the number of U.K. shops had more than doubled to some 700.
