Marks & Spencer trading fails to reassure

Shares in FTSE 250 supermarket chain Marks & Spencer Group (LON:MKS) dropped by 3.39% to 109.74p (as of 10:55 BST) after it provided an update on current trading. Food sales grew by 2.5% during the 13 weeks ended 8th August, but clothing and home products sales were down by 38.5% over the same period against the same quarter of 2019. Performance has improved over time since the end of lockdown but total sales for the eight weeks to 8th August were still down by 10% year-on-year.

Chief Executive Steve Rowe commented: “In May we outlined our plans to learn from the crisis, accelerate our transformation and deliver a stronger, more agile business in a world in which some customer habits were changed forever. Three months on and our Never the Same Again programme is progressing; albeit the outlook is uncertain and we remain cautious. As part of our Never The Same Again programme to embed the positive changes in ways of working through the crisis, we are today announcing proposals to further streamline store operations and management structures. These proposals are an important step in becoming a leaner, faster business set up to serve changing customer needs and we are committed to supporting colleagues through this time“.