Marks and Spencer sees LFL sales tumble

The tills are still ringing like billy-o in the food halls of retail bellwether Marks and Spencer but the group confessed that trading in other parts of the store was more mixed in the first first three months of 2011.

Like-for-like sales in the UK were down 0.7% on the first quarter of 2011, with food sales up 1.0% while general merchandise sales were down 2.8%.

Overall, UK sales were up 1.2%, with food sales up 3.1% and general merchandise sales down 1.2%. Within the general merchandise category, clothing sales held up reasonably well, easing 0.3% from a year earlier but home-ware sales were 7.5% lower.

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International sales were down 2.0% but direct sales were a bright spot, rising 22.8% from a year earlier.

"We have continued to manage costs tightly, and are confident of delivering full year profits in line with expectations. While the short term trading outlook continues to be challenging, we are focused on investing in line with our plan and are making strong progress against our goal of becoming an international, multi-channel retailer," said Marc Bolland, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer.

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