New M&S boss Steve Rowe blames Brexit and poor weather for ‘painfully weak’ clothing sales
High street chain chief confesses plummeting numbers were not what he wanted to see
MARKS & SPENCER yesterday reported its worst clothing sales drop in more than a decade in a disastrous start for new chief executive Steve Rowe.
Trading in its fashion and home division plunged 8.9 per cent in the three months to early July.
Mr Rowe, who took over from Marc Bolland in April, confessed they were “not the numbers I want to see”.
Even its food division – the area where M&S has traditionally done well – suffered with like-for-like sales down 0.9 per cent.
Mr Rowe said yesterday: “We are operating in uncertain times,” blaming economic disruption in the build-up to the Brexit vote as well as poor weather.
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In May he pledged to cut prices on nearly a third of the store’s clothing ranges while boosting staff numbers on the shop floor.
He also vowed to win back “Mrs M&S” – the chain’s once-loyal army of women shoppers aged 50 and over, who he said had been “neglected” in recent years.
Yesterday retail and economic analysts criticised M&S’s performance.
Richard Lim, head of analysts Retail Economics, called the clothing figures “painfully weak”.
Russ Mould, of investment and stockbroking firm AJ Bell, said: “The numbers underline the size of the challenge ahead for Steve Rowe, as all retailers do their best to satisfy internet-savvy, price-conscious customers at a time when the lower Pound and the Living Wage may start to drive costs higher.”
John Ibbotson, director of consultancy Retail Vision, was more blunt.
He said: “As hard as it is to say, the problems at M&S are starting to look terminal.”