Marks and Spencer Reports Growth in Food

Food gross margin increased by 35 basis points with improved buying and better management of waste helping to offset the commodity price increases, and we expect this to continue in the second half.

12 Nov 2012 --- Food sales were up 3.4%, with like-for-like sales up 1.1%, consolidating our position as the UK?s leading high quality food retailer. Our strategy to focus on our heritage of quality and innovation is continuing to deliver results and set us apart from the competition.  We gave customers more choice through constant innovation, launching 1,000 new lines, in line with our target to refresh
25% of our range each year. We also highlighted  the great value we offer on everyday items with the launch of our Simply M&S range.

Food gross margin increased by 35 basis points with improved buying and better management of waste helping  to offset the commodity  price increases, and we expect this to continue in the second half.

Customers once again placed their trust in us at special times of the year, and this summer provided several opportunities to celebrate. We launched over 200 British inspired lines, including our highly sought after Jubilee biscuit tin, which sold 4.1 million  tins to customers around the world.  We launched 1,000 new lines, taking inspiration  from  around the world,  including  our Modern Asian? range, our take  on the  continent?s vibrant  cuisines,  which has proved immediately popular with shoppers.


In a very price competitive  market, we launched Simply M&S, a range of  700 products  that highlights the great value we offer on everyday items, without compromising on M&S quality. We extended our popular "Dine In" promotion into a new „Weekends In?, to give customers a treat  for weekends at home as well as special occasion dining.


Specialness and service have remained a key priority as we continued to improve our Food Hall experience for customers. Over 190 Food Halls have now been updated, with the introduction  of delis, pasta bars and in-store bakeries. These stores continue to outperform the rest of the chain in terms of sales, with the in-store bakery being the best performing department during the first half.


We have also improved on-shelf availability by a further 1%, in addition to the 2% delivered in the last full  year, through  the  implementation  of  our  new space, range and display system and invested in employee zoning in the Food Halls to improve the service standards for our customers.