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| Marks and Spencer sees sales drop | Marks and Spencer sees sales drop |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Sales at Marks and Spencer have fallen, as the retailer becomes the latest to suffer from tough conditions on the High Street. | Sales at Marks and Spencer have fallen, as the retailer becomes the latest to suffer from tough conditions on the High Street. |
| The company said UK like-for-like sales had declined 6.1% in the 13 weeks to September 27. | The company said UK like-for-like sales had declined 6.1% in the 13 weeks to September 27. |
| The fall was M&S's worst quarterly performance since early 2005. | The fall was M&S's worst quarterly performance since early 2005. |
| Sir Stuart Rose, the retailer's chairman, said consumer confidence remained fragile and the retail environment was unpredictable. | Sir Stuart Rose, the retailer's chairman, said consumer confidence remained fragile and the retail environment was unpredictable. |
| "Consumers are increasingly cautious about their budgets," he added. | |
| In this tougher market environment, the retailer planned to cut costs. "Capital expenditure this year is now expected to be around £700m, compared to our previous guidance of £800m-£900m," he added. | |
| Like-for like general merchandise sales were down 6.4%, with food sales 5.9% lower in the same period. | |
| Overall group sales were up 0.4%, with UK sales down 1.6%. This was in sharp contrast to a 24.2% rise in international sales and a 34% rise in online sales. | |
| M&S is to report its 2008/09 interim results on 4 November. | |
| Earlier this month, a worker at M&S was sacked after telling the media that the company planned to cut redundancy pay to staff. |