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| Marks and Spencer non-food sales fall for 11th quarter | Marks and Spencer non-food sales fall for 11th quarter |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Marks and Spencer has revealed another quarter of falling sales in its non-food general merchandise division. the 11th quarter in a row they have fallen. | Marks and Spencer has revealed another quarter of falling sales in its non-food general merchandise division. the 11th quarter in a row they have fallen. |
| Like-for-like sales in the division fell 0.6% in the three months to the end of March. | Like-for-like sales in the division fell 0.6% in the three months to the end of March. |
| However, the retailer said there were signs of "encouraging improvement" in clothing sales, with like-for-like sales up 0.6%. | However, the retailer said there were signs of "encouraging improvement" in clothing sales, with like-for-like sales up 0.6%. |
| Food sales rose just 0.1% on the same basis. Online sales were up 12.5%. | Food sales rose just 0.1% on the same basis. Online sales were up 12.5%. |
| The sales figures were better than expected. Analysts had expected non-food sales to fall, but by at least 1% in the quarter. | The sales figures were better than expected. Analysts had expected non-food sales to fall, but by at least 1% in the quarter. |
| The 0.6% fall in non-food sales was also an improvement on previous quarters. In the previous quarter, which included Christmas, sales declined of 2.1%, and a year earlier they had fallen 3.8%. | |
| Total sales - which count sales across all stores - were 1.5% higher in the first three months of the year. However, taking out stores open less than a year sales fell 0.2%. | |
| Womenswear boost | Womenswear boost |
| M&S hired Belinda Earl, the former chief executive of Debenhams and Jaeger, as head of style in 2012. | |
| Ms Earl was charged with regenerating Marks' reputation among its core, female fashion customers. | Ms Earl was charged with regenerating Marks' reputation among its core, female fashion customers. |
| The 130-year old retailer launched a new autumn/winter women's fashion range, backed by a large advertising campaign, to boost its flagging clothing sales. | |
| M&S chief executive Marc Bolland, said he was "particularly encouraged by womenswear, which is showing a clear sign of improvement and performed ahead of clothing". | M&S chief executive Marc Bolland, said he was "particularly encouraged by womenswear, which is showing a clear sign of improvement and performed ahead of clothing". |
| He added customers were responding well to the retailer's "refocus on quality and style" and that its new spring/summer fashion range had also been received well. | He added customers were responding well to the retailer's "refocus on quality and style" and that its new spring/summer fashion range had also been received well. |
| Mr Bolland said M&S's food business "outperformed the market once again". | |
| Adjusting for the later timing of Easter this year, M&S said its like-for-like food sales were up 1.8%, with total sales up 4.2%. | |
| It marked the 18th consecutive quarter of growth in the retailer's food division, which came despite heavy discounting as pressure from rivals grew. | |
| 'Green shoots' | |
| Most analysts still expect M&S's pre-tax profits to fall 6% to £623m when annual results are published on 20 May. | |
| It will mean M&S will have been overtaken for the first time by rival Next - a relative upstart at 32 years old - which last month announced profits of £695m. | |
| Neil Saunders, managing director of retail analysts Conlumino, said the trading update showed M&S was showing "some green shoots of recovery in its non-food division". | |
| "Although the numbers are not spectacular, and they are set against some soft comparatives, they have at least brought to an end a long run period of decline in the clothing business," he said. | |
| "It is worth noting that although positive, M&S's latest numbers are not high enough for it to have grown its clothing share; by our calculations M&S has underperformed the market during this period and, as such, has continued to cede share." |