UK retailer Marks and Spencer has suffered a 6.1% drop in domestic like-for-like sales as consumers reined in spending on clothes and its premium food.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more


For the 13 weeks to 27 September, the group posted a 6.4% drop in like-for-like general merchandise sales, which includes clothes and home furnishings, and 5.9% decline in food sales.


The figures showed that sales fell faster during the company’s second quarter. In the first quarter to 28 June, M&S saw like-for-like sales fall 5.3%, with food sales down 4.5%. 


Overall in the second quarter, UK sales fell 1.6%, with general merchandise down 2.9%, clothing down 3.5%, food down 0.5% and home up 2.9%.


Executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose warned: “Consumer confidence remains fragile and the retail environment unpredictable. Consumers are increasingly cautious about their budgets.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

“We have responded by offering our customers better values and more promotions across the business, while at the same time tightly controlling our costs.”


Despite the drop in sales, Rose remained positive about the company’s “quality” food offering, and said the group is “committed” to giving customers “outstanding product while implementing a range of initiatives to improve value, innovation and availability”.


The company said it is expecting operating costs to increase by between 4% and 5% compared to previous guidance of 7%. Capital expenditure will be about GBP700m (US$1.2bn) rather than the GBP800m-GBP900m it had previously forecast.


In the next fiscal year, that will drop to GBP400m.