The lingering after affects of last year’s devastating cyber hack continued to hold back clothing, home and beauty sales at Mark & Spencer over Christmas, the retailer revealed today.
Non- food sales were down 2.5%, or 2.9% on a like for like basis, in the 13 weeks to 27 December “as we worked through the tail end of recovery.”
M&S said the ”performance reflected reduced high street footfall , and the long tail impact on stock data and management following the incident earlier in the year.”
However, in a more encouraging sign, sales in the quarter “improved significantly” on the first half of the year “as we continue to regain momentum and online sales grew.”
The retailer flagged up fashion lines that were in hot demand over Christmas, including an £18 supersoft crew neck jumper, of which 100,000 were snapped up by shoppers.
Christmas lines also performed well with sales of ‘day to night’ womenswear separates up 5%. Menswear had its best ever Christmas Eve.
Highlights of the new season campaign focussed on value include a £10 Jasmine Lace Bra,. Around 40,000 were sold in the first week, up 60%.
Food sales grew strongly, up 6.6 % on the previous year with like-for-like sales up 5.6%. The UK saw volume growth of 2.3% as M&S continued to grab market share.
New and renewed branches outperformed the rest of the business, with the recently extended Chiswick store in west London “exceeding expectations.”
Chief executive Stuart Machin said: “A record number of customers shopped M&S this Christmas. From the festive food shop, to picking up party outfits and gifts, millions more trusted M&S to deliver the family Christmas.
“Food sales were strong and the business continues to outperform, hitting a new market share milestone in the period. We are the UK’s fastest growing grocer for families, reflecting our investment in value and core family staples, and demonstrating progress in our journey to become a shopping list retailer.
“Fashion, home & beauty is getting back on track as we work through the tail end of recovery. Sales overall were slightly down but online performance continued to improve as digital sales recovered. We planned a bigger sale this year, with strong sell -through already making way for our new season lines.”
