Marks & Spencer Christmas spoiled by online delivery woes

[LONDON] Marks & Spencer posted a worse than expected 5.8 per cent drop in underlying sales of clothing, gifts and homeware in its Christmas quarter, exacerbated by online delivery problems.

The performance was a fourteenth consecutive quarterly decline in general merchandise sales for the British retailer, far underperforming analyst expectations for a 3 per cent drop.

A 0.1 per cent rise in food sales in the period over the 13 weeks to Dec 27, the company's fiscal third quarter, was also lower than the 0.9 per cent the market had expected.

REUTERS