Marks & Spencer FY19 result: sales down 1.9% to £10,182 mn

20 May '20

2 min read

Pic: Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer (M&S), a British multinational retailer, reported its revenue declined 1.9 per cent to £10,181.9 million in the fiscal 2020 that ended on March 28, 2020 compared to the revenue of £10,377.3 million in same period prior year. Profit before tax during the year were down 20.2 per cent to £67.2 million (FY19: £84.2 million).

“Last year's results reflect a year of substantial progress and change including the transformative investment in Ocado Retail, outperformance in Food and some green shoots in clothing in the second half,” Steve Rowe, Marks & Spencer CEO, said in a press release.

However, they now seem like ancient history as the trauma of the Covid crisis has galvanised our colleagues to secure the future of the business.”

Company reported that the UK Clothing & Home business experienced a year of substantial reshaping, resulting in some encouraging performance indicators in the second half. However, the segment’s revenue declined 8.3 per cent overall.

In Womenswear, reshaping the buy and more contemporary style resulted in improving performance up until the onset of the crisis. Menswear experienced initial problems with size and fit as the range migrated towards a more contemporary style and look, in order to address issues in the shape of buy. Lingerie market share held at 27 per cent, and strong performances from ‘Collection’ as option count was marginally reduced.

The UK Food business outperformed the market and saw strengthening sales performance as changes to range, value, and customer communication took effect: revenue increased 2.1 per cent.

During the year M&S completed the purchase of 50 per cent of Ocado Retail providing the company with a profitable, scalable presence in online grocery, the UK’s fastest growing channel. International revenue decreased 2.5 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JL)

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