M&S sales and profits fall due to weak clothing sales

The department store chain’s sales dipped 2.1% to £4.8bn and profit before tax and adjusting items tumbled 17.1% to £176.5m for the 26 weeks to September 28.

Clothing and home like-for-like sales were down 5.5% and total sales were down 7.8%, which the retailer attributed to supply chain and fit issues.

The retailer said it has focused on new ranges, price and availability. Following a trial, M&S relaunched its own brand Per Una in October. Customer reaction to the new ranges has been “encouraging” M&S said.

Food like-for-like sales registered a 0.9% uptick “driven by volume”. Online sales at M&S.com increased 0.2%, though this less than it had planned for.

To boost its online appeal, M&S is trialling an 11pm cut-off time for free next-day delivery to stores, enhanced search and personalisation tools are being introduced, and an instalment payment facility has been launched.

M&S chief executive Steve Rowe said: “Our transformation plan is now running at a pace and scale not seen before at Marks & Spencer. For the first time, we are beginning to see the potential from the far-reaching changes we are making.

“The food business is outperforming the market. Our deal to create a joint venture with Ocado is complete and plans to transition to the M&S range are on track.

“In clothing and home, we are making up for lost time. We are still in the early stages, but we are clear on the issues we need to fix and, after a challenging first half, we are seeing a positive response to this season’s contemporary styling and better value product.

“We have taken decisive action to trade the ranges with improved availability and shorter clearance periods. In some instances, dramatic sales uplifts in categories where we have restored value, style and availability illustrate the latent potential and enduring broad appeal of our brand. Our cost reduction and store technology programmes are on track.”