Marks & Spencer sales hit by pre-Brexit jitters
The first-quarter sales drop was far worse than expected, but M&S blamed a “weak market” as consumer confidence was hit ahead of last month’s EU referendum, as well as moves to cut promotions and shift its summer sale into July.
It added that the timing of Easter knocked about 0.8 per cent off clothing and homewares sales growth.
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Hide AdThe group’s food arm fared better, with like-for-like sales down by 0.9 per cent in the 13 weeks to 2 July, of which 0.5 per cent was due to Easter timing, while total comparable store sales were 4.3 per cent lower overall.
Chief executive Steve Rowe said: “Consumer confidence weakened in the run-up to the EU referendum. While it is too early to quantify the implications of Brexit, we are confident that our strategic priorities and the actions we are taking remain the right ones.”