The retailer revealed today that like-for-like sales increased by 1.3 per cent, against a backdrop of good performance in other categories.
For the 12 weeks to October 1, general merchandise sales were down 0.2 per cent against a decrease of 11.2 per cent in the first quarter. Food sales rose by 2.7 per cent, compared with a 0.7 per cent rise in the first quarter. Clothing sales were up 0.2 per cent and sales in its home category climbed by 2.1 per cent.
'This is an encouraging performance but there remains a lot to be done. The product is getting better and our stores are looking better,' said chief executive Stuart Rose (pictured).
Numis analyst Steve Davies noted: 'M&S's Q2 trading update is a very positive one. Food like-for-likes beat our expectations again. Even more encouraging is the news that clothing and home like-for-likes were flat in Q2, compared with a decline in Q1. Given the current market - August and September were pretty dreadful for most clothing retailers - that is all the more impressive.'
The results were largely in line with expectations. Last week, Retail Week reported that Rose had managed to stabilise sales and that major shareholders had bought£1.1 million of M&S shares over recent months.
M&S will publish its interim results for the 26 weeks to October 1 on November 8.
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