M&S reports fall in festive sales revenues

Marks and Spencer has reported a 0.7% decline in revenues in its third quarter of the current financial year to £3bn , attributed to underperformance in clothing and home sales.

For the 13 week period ending 28 December, the retailer reported a 3.7% fall in clothing and home sales to £1.1bn, as menswear and gifting items “underperformed.”

The retailer also reported that online clothing sales increased 1.5%, which it added was “lower than expected”.

UK food revenue increased by 1.5% to £1.7bn compared with 1.4% for the same period last year, as total UK revenues decreased by 0.6% to £2.7bn.

M&S attributed the loss to competitor discounting in December as well as lower furniture displays at the start of the quarter.

Steve Rowe, chief executive, said: “The food business continued to outperform the market and clothing and home had a strong start to the quarter, albeit this was followed by a challenging trading environment in the lead up to Christmas. 

“As we drive a faster pace of change, disappointing one-off issues – notably waste and supply chain in the food business, the shape of buy-in menswear and performance in our gifting categories – held us back from delivering a stronger result.”