Marks and Spencer has announced its financial results for 53 weeks to 2 April 16, which shows Group revenue has risen by 2.4% to £10.6bn.
The year saw continued strong growth in Food as the firm outperformed a competitive market. It opened 75 new Simply Food stores, which are performing ahead of expectations.
Forty percent of all food consumed in the UK is eaten out of the home and convenience is the only segment of food retail predicted to grow over the next few years. So in addition to the 250 new Simply Food stores already due to open by March 2017, the firm is extending the opening programme by c.100 stores per year in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Steve Rowe, Chief Executive, said, “M&S is a great business with a strong customer base and loyal employees and we have much to be proud of. We also know that we have lots of opportunities to improve and be better for our customers, our employees and our shareholders. We are putting customers right at the heart of our business.
“Our results last year were mixed. We continued to outperform on Food but we underperformed on Clothing & Home sales. This is not satisfactory and today we are outlining our initial plans to address the issues and to position Marks & Spencer to deliver profitable sales growth.
“We are clear on the actions needed to recover and grow Clothing & Home, which is our top priority; to continue to grow our Food business; and to focus on driving profitability. We are investing to re-establish our price position by sharpening prices and to enhance service by putting more employees into our stores.
“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 & Home sales to growth. This, together with continued momentum in Food, will provide us with a solid base from which to build a long term sustainable business.”
Robert Swannell, M&S Chairman, said, 'Steve Rowe is today setting out his priorities as our new Chief Executive. His number one priority is to restore our Clothing & Home business to profitable growth, while maintaining the pace of growth and success of our market leading Food business.'