Marks & Spencer has reported that its homeware and clothing sales fell by 8.9% on a like-for-like basis in its first quarter. Trading was affected by a weak market in the run-up to the EU referendum, however the decline was expected owing to strategic changes.
During the quarter Marks & Spencer continued to reduce the number of promotional events within its clothing and homewares category. It has also repriced around 1,000 lines since January as it looks to lower prices as part of efforts to turn the category around.
Like-for-like food sales declined by 0.9% although 0.5% was due to the timing of Easter this year.
Marks & Spencer chief executive, Steve Rowe said: "A key part of our recovery plan for clothing and home is lowering prices and reducing promotions. As a result, we ran fewer price promotions while continuing to lower prices to deliver real value to our customers, and moved the summer sale to July. We knew our actions would reduce total sales but we are seeing some encouraging early signs. Our food business continues to strongly outperform a deflationary market, with like-for-like sales slightly down when adjusted for Easter timing.”
Group sales were up 1.3% in the 13 week period to July 2nd. International sales were up 0.7% at constant currency and rose by 6.1% on a reported basis.
Rowe added: “As highlighted in May, consumer confidence weakened in the run-up to the EU referendum. While it is too early to quantify the implications of Brexit, we are confident that our strategic priorities and the actions we are taking remain the right ones to deliver results for our customers and our business."
