Michael Marks arrived in Britain during the 1880s to escape the persecution of Jews in Russian Poland. In 1884 he set up a stall in Leeds' Kirkgate open market where he sold a range of household goods with a fixed price tag of one penny.

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Michael Marks arrived in Britain during the 1880s to escape the persecution of Jews in Russian Poland. In 1884 he set up a stall in Leeds' Kirkgate open market where he sold a range of household goods with a fixed price tag of one penny.

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The late nineteenth and early twentieth century saw attempts by London warehouses to monopolise the supply of knitted goods to retailers.

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Family control of the Marks & Spencer boardroom ended in 1984 when Marcus Sieff retired as chairman. The new chairman, Derek Raynor, broke with the past and brought new ideas to Marks & Spencer.

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In the 1980s high street competition intensified for Marks & Spencer. Companies like Next took customers away and forced Marks & Spencer to look at how it could change to compete in this new environment.

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