Improving group sales at Marks and Spencer (MKS) were overshadowed this week when it revealed an 8 per cent drop in online sales during the first quarter. The dip follows an extensive £150m re-design of the retailer’s website, which was previously run by internet behemoth Amazon.
Back in 2011, M&S successfully wooed Laura Wade-Gery from rival food retailer Tesco (TSCO) to spearhead a new online campaign and bring the operation of the website under M&S’s control. But web sales were hit by the site’s increased complexity, which now plays host to editorial content and video features. Tellingly, only half of M&S’s six million regular online shoppers have registered with the new site. But, despite this week’s disappointing figures, Ms Wade-Gery was promoted to head up all of M&S’s UK stores in June.
Food sales remain strong, growing more than 4 per cent in the first quarter and accounting for more than half of group revenues, but clothes sales were only ‘slightly positive’ and general merchandise revenue fell 1.5 per cent overall. As a result, shareholders reacted angrily at the company’s annual meeting this week, vocalising their doubt over chief executive Marc Bolland’s capability to turn M&S around. But Mr Bolland was adamant online trading would return to growth by November, considered to be the group’s peak trading season.
