Including general merchandise sales fall for M&S and early Easter hits John Lewis.
The Source rounds up some of the key retail stories of the week.
Marks & Spencer has seen a 2.7% decline in its like for like general merchandise sales in the fourth quarter. However, while new boss Steve Rowe said the performance was “unsatisfactory”, the drop was not as bad as some analysts had feared. Total sales for the division (which includes clothing and homewares) dropped 1.9% for the 13 weeks to March 26.
The impact of the early Easter weekend hit John Lewis for the week to April 2, with sales dipping 2.3% to £83.33m. The electricals, home and technology sector performed well, with sales rising 8.3% compared to the same week last year, although fashion sales dropped 7.6%.
Waitrose has unveiled a new premium brand, which will bring together all of its existing luxury ranges under one label. Waitrose 1 will initially focus on 500 products, but will introduce a further 300 over the coming year. It will be available in-store and online from this month.
Sainsbury’s is dropping its Brand Match scheme and will instead focus on lower prices on everyday items. The move will apparently give customers more flexibility to buy ‘what they want, when they want it, at a great price with no restrictions’ according to the grocer.
Fashion retailer H&M posted a fall in its first quarter profits, impacted by a milder autumn and winter which hit sales of seasonal lines. The chain reported a pre-tax profit of SKr3.33bn (£289.6m) for the three months to February, down from SKr4.72bn (£410.47m) for the same period last year.
Debenhams is merging its store and online management into one team, a move which has seen the departure of retail director Mike Goring. The new unit will be led by Ross Clemmow, who was previously commerce director for the retailer.
Overall shop prices – including food and non-food – declined 1.7% in March compared with the previous year, according to the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index. The data also showed that deflation deepened in the fashion sector, with menswear, kidswear, babywear and footwear all reporting dropping prices.
