Marks & Spencer troubles look set to continue after a UK newspaper said that it has seen an internal document which said the retailer faced a further reduction in profitability.
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The Guardian said on Saturday that it had seen a confidential M&S management document which included all aspects of the company’s business for the full year ended March 31. The leaked document was circulated to all of the group’s 13 directors and senior employees.
The newspaper said that the group was internally forecasting a lower end-of-year profit of £430m (US$618m), which is deemed to be at the bottom line of analysts’ original forecasts.
Pressure on the ailing clothing and food retailer will increase if French courts decide to take action against M&S for mishandling the closure of its operations in France. French courts may block the closures, while in Belgium legal authorities will also decide this week on whether to take action relating to the closure of four Belgian stores.
M&S announced last week that it would close down its international operations to concentrate on its UK retailing operations. The action was taken despite the leaked revelation that sales in M&S’ international stores were performing better than expectations.
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By GlobalDataA spokesman for M&S confirmed the leaked document’s legitimacy but said much of the information was already available in the public domain. He added that it was ‘unfortunate and sad’ that an employee would leak information at a time of uncertainty for the business.
