M&S clothing & home sector posts poor results

Unseasonal weather, especially in autumn, led to immense promotional activity. But still the company under performed. Consumer confidence dipped and the clothing market remained flat. Online sales also slowed down.

Commenting on the weak results, Steve Rowe, CEO of M&S said, “We are clear on the actions needed to recover and grow clothing and home, which is our top priority. These actions, combined with the difficult trading conditions, will have an adverse effect on profit in the short term.”

“We are, however, confident that our commitment to delivering the right product, price and service will help return clothing and home sales to growth,” he added.

The company posted an improvement in clothing and home gross margins of 245 bps, up 55.1 per cent, driven by improvement in the buying margin as a result of various improvement strategies implemented by M&S.

Gross profit at the clothing and home segment stood at £2,180.7 million for the fiscal as compared to £2,098.9 million in the prior fiscal.

For the fiscal 2016-17, the company expects an increase of 50-100 bps in its clothing and home segment's gross margin. (MCJ)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India