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| M&S sees clothing sales fall over Christmas period | M&S sees clothing sales fall over Christmas period |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Marks and Spencer has reported its 14th consecutive quarterly drop in clothing sales, blaming unseasonal autumn weather. | Marks and Spencer has reported its 14th consecutive quarterly drop in clothing sales, blaming unseasonal autumn weather. |
| The retailer said like-for-like general merchandise sales - which are mainly clothing - fell 5.8% in the third quarter. | The retailer said like-for-like general merchandise sales - which are mainly clothing - fell 5.8% in the third quarter. |
| Meanwhile, like-for-like online sales fell 2.7%, despite a revamped website. | Meanwhile, like-for-like online sales fell 2.7%, despite a revamped website. |
| M&S chief executive Marc Bolland said the company had a "difficult quarter in general merchandise". | M&S chief executive Marc Bolland said the company had a "difficult quarter in general merchandise". |
| In October and November trading was adversely affected by "unseasonal" mild weather, which had a negative impact on sales, the company said. | |
| In December, disruption at M&S' Castle Donington online sales distribution centre badly affected online sales, which in turn hit general merchandise sales in the month. | |
| However, the company said it had a "good performance" in terms of its profit margin by avoiding heavy discounting in December. | |
| The firm also reported record sales for festive food. | |
| "M&S had a very good Christmas in food. We delivered record Christmas sales, strongly outperforming the market," Mr Bolland said. |