Marks and Spencer sales suffer following Christmas delivery woes
Marks and Spencer (M&S) posted worse than expected results today as clothing, gifts and homeware sales fell, marking its fourteenth consecutive quarterly decline.
While it's 'Magic and Sparkle' Christmas campaign, which launched last November, proved popular amongst consumers, beating the John Lewis' Monty the Penguin ad in a consumer poll, it failed to convert into sales.
General merchandise sales were down 5.4 per cent in the 13 weeks to 27 December while total UK sales were down 1.1 per cent.
The retailer also buckled under the pressure of Black Friday as a surge in online orders forced it to change Christmas delivery times to cope with demand.
It was the first year that the retailer had participated in the event, offering up to 30 per cent off footwear, perfume and clothing in a 'Four Magical Days' campaign.
Online sales for the period were down 5.9 per cent.
Chief executive Marc Bolland said in a statement: “We had a difficult quarter in general merchandise, dominated by unseasonal conditions and an unsatisfactory performance in our e-commerce distribution centre.”
Its food business faired better. There was a 0.1 per cent rise in like-for-like food sales, outperforming the grocery market and noted record sales over the festive period, up 17 per cent in the key Christmas week.