SALES at Marks & Spencer have slumped for everything except food.
The retailer said it was rapidly pushing ahead with a turnaround plan which will mean 110 branch closures after a “challenging” period for clothing and homeware.
Sales slid 2.1 per cent to £4.86million for the six months to September 28.
Like-for-like food sales rose 0.9 per cent following an acceleration in the year’s second quarter.
But like-for-like clothing and homeware sales dropped 5.5 per cent.
M&S said it had "poor availability on the most popular sizes and too much stock and markdown" on its clothing lines.
It added that it saw a sales uplift in October after taking action to improve availability and has had an "encouraging" relaunch of its Per Una brand.
M&S also reported weaker-than-expected online sales, as digital revenues rose just 0.2 per cent despite an eight per cent increase in website traffic.
Meanwhile, like-for-like food sales increased by 0.9% driven by an acceleration in the second quarter.
The company said it has benefited from price reductions on a range of core food products and almost halved its number of promotions.
Trading profits slid 17 per cent to £176.5million during the half-year.
M&S said it has closed 17 stores as part of its turnaround plan which it said will see the closure of 100 stores across the UK.
It said it made £75m in cost savings during the period as a result.
Fareham Shopping Centre’s M&S closed last year after more than 40 years of trading. It is due to reopen as a branch of Beales at the end of this week.
Other local M&S branches include those at Winchester and Gosport, Simply Food outlets at Southampton Hospital and Lymington, and a Foodhall at Eastleigh.
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