8. MARKS & SPENCER, 1987-2000

Summary: This record group contains the closing documents of the sale of Kings Super Markets Inc. to Marks & Spencer, a British retailer (1988), as well as information about the management transition and on-going operations of Kings while Allen Bildner remained in charge as Chairman of the Board. The files consist of financial results and balance sheets, financial planning files; minutes of meetings of executive directors, the communications network, the management committee, the steering committee, and the store development task force; market research results; notes on visits to Kings stores; organizational charts; and promotional holiday catalogs. Allen Bildner's introductory remarks at a meeting of the M&S Board of Directors provide insights into King's activities during the initial months of the transition as well as some emerging food industry issues and trends in the United States (May 31, 1989). There also are annual reports and financial statements for the years 1988-1995, a McKinsey Report: on Kings Super Markets (1987) and a Harvard University case study of Marks & Spencer (1991).

Refer to Record Group 11 for press coverage of Marks & Spencer's purchase of Kings (8/29/1988) as well as subsequent press coverage. Also in Record Group 11 are a few copies of M&S newsletters, including St. Michael's News (1987-1991) and International News (1990).