Marks and Spencer Group (M&S) has reported a 4.8% jump in online sales with store sales up 14.9%, a year into its “strategy to reshape M&S for growth”.
In the 52 weeks that ended 01 April 2023, the omni-channel retailer saw total revenues grow by 9.6% to £11.9bn, compared with the same period last year. Clothing & Home sales were up 11.5% to £3.72bn, while M&S Food remains a cornerstone of the business recording a 8.7% jump to £7.22bn.
Furthermore, click & collect sales saw a 20% rise, with over one-third of customers placing orders via the M&S App.
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Stuart Machin, M&S, chief executive,said: “Our Food and Clothing & Home businesses invested in value to protect customers from the full force of inflation which, whilst impacting margin, was the right thing to do, as serving our customers well is the only route to delivering for our shareholders.
“Food outperformed the market, with customer perception for quality and value the highest in six years. The benefits of the Gist acquisition and operational efficiencies also supported an improved performance in the second half.
“Clothing & Home retained market-leading value perception, and its style credentials continue to improve. Sales were up in store and online, supported by growth in Click and Collect sales, active App users and Sparks loyalty membership; demonstrating the emerging power of our omni-channel model.
“The store rotation and renewal programme delivered strong sales uplifts and will accelerate this year, including the opening of five brand defining full-line stores in major cities. Our disciplined approach to capital allocation means we can invest for growth, while further reducing net debt and maintaining investment grade credit metrics, and we plan to resume dividend payments at our interim results.
“M&S is such a special business with so much potential, and I want to thank all of my colleagues for their contribution to these results. Delivering performance and driving change is everyone’s responsibility at M&S, and they have done a remarkable job. Despite facing significant headwinds, I am encouraged by the strong foundations established last year and excited about what we can achieve in the year ahead.”
M&S did report an Ocado Retail share of loss £29.5m (2021/22: share of profit £13.9m) but stressed that there was capacity for future growth.
