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| Marks & Spencer clothing sales rise for first time in four years | Marks & Spencer clothing sales rise for first time in four years |
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| Marks & Spencer has delivered its first rise in clothing sales in more than four years after a pickup in performance at its website. | Marks & Spencer has delivered its first rise in clothing sales in more than four years after a pickup in performance at its website. |
| Sales of clothing and homewares at established stores rose by 0.7% in the 13 weeks to 28 March compared with a 5.8% slide in the previous three months. The tentative step into growth, ahead of analyst expectations, comes after 15 quarters of decline. The rise in sales comes despite a tricky spring for fashion retailers with the weather much chillier than this time last year. | Sales of clothing and homewares at established stores rose by 0.7% in the 13 weeks to 28 March compared with a 5.8% slide in the previous three months. The tentative step into growth, ahead of analyst expectations, comes after 15 quarters of decline. The rise in sales comes despite a tricky spring for fashion retailers with the weather much chillier than this time last year. |
| The company credited improvements in style and quality, and positive press coverage, particularly of a suede skirt which has yet to arrive in stores, for the sales turnaround. But performance was also lifted by a return to growth at M&S.com, where sales rose 13.8%, a considerable bounce from the 6% slump over Christmas, when business was affected by problems at the group’s hi-tech distribution centre in Castle Donington. | The company credited improvements in style and quality, and positive press coverage, particularly of a suede skirt which has yet to arrive in stores, for the sales turnaround. But performance was also lifted by a return to growth at M&S.com, where sales rose 13.8%, a considerable bounce from the 6% slump over Christmas, when business was affected by problems at the group’s hi-tech distribution centre in Castle Donington. |
| Related: This season's cult item: The Autograph suede skirt | |
| Marc Bolland, chief executive, said that sales of womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and home furnishings had all increased as shoppers perceived an improvement in style and quality at the chain. He said M&S’s top-priced brand Autograph and The Limited, its most fashionable label, had both enjoyed underlying growth of close to 10%. | |
| “People are looking for quality and style and we’re benefiting from that,” he said. “Our spring summer collection has done very well. Customers have reacted very positively to it and it’s been bang on trend.” | |
| Food sales rose 3.7% in total and 0.7% once the impact of new store openings was stripped out, a good performance in a tough market in which a price war is affecting all the major supermarkets. The company said it had enjoyed particularly good sales over Valentine’s Day. | Food sales rose 3.7% in total and 0.7% once the impact of new store openings was stripped out, a good performance in a tough market in which a price war is affecting all the major supermarkets. The company said it had enjoyed particularly good sales over Valentine’s Day. |
| Shares in the retailer leapt 6% to 561p in early trading as some analysts said they were preparing to upgrade annual profit forecasts in the light of the better sales, tighter controls on costs and an on-target rise in profit margins. | |
| Bolland refused to mark the quarter as a definitive turn in M&S’s fortunes. “I am not going to step away from my step-by-step story ... This is another step in the right direction,” he said. | |
| And he reiterated his commitment to the group. “I really enjoy my role. I have enjoyed the past few years and there is still more to do,” he said. | |
| Performance overseas, a key plank of Bolland’s revival plans for M&S, was not so good. Sales fell 3.8% as the retailer’s franchise operators suffered from political and economic problems in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. M&S said those issues had “significantly impacted” profits from outside the UK. | Performance overseas, a key plank of Bolland’s revival plans for M&S, was not so good. Sales fell 3.8% as the retailer’s franchise operators suffered from political and economic problems in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. M&S said those issues had “significantly impacted” profits from outside the UK. |
| Tony Shiret, the veteran retail analyst at BESI, said that like-for-like clothing sales in M&S’s stores were still likely to be falling by as much as 2% because the topline was boosted by online sales. He also suggested that M&S had been able boost trade with discounts under-pinned by a new approach to sourcing which was helping to boost profit margins. “We do not believe that today is a key opinion changing day for M&S,” he wrote in a note. |