From penny bazaar to St. Michael Available to Purchase

Leeds, Yorkshire, 1884. Michael Marks, a Polish immigrant, opens his first penny bazaar under the laconic slogan: Don't ask the price — it's a penny. Today, Marks & Spencer is Britain's biggest retailer, and the fifth‐ranked company in Europe in terms of market capitalisation. Group sales in the last financial year, achieved during a time of recession, increased unemployment and the worst winter in living memory, were in excess of £2,000 million, while profits were £222 million. Additionally sales and profits were swollen from overseas earnings, notably from the stores in Paris and Dublin.