Food boosts M&S performance Tue, 31st March 2009 Food boosts M&S performanceTuesday March 31st 2009
 Marks & Spencer's food sales helped the group come in ahead of forecasts in the last quarter. UK like for likes in the three months to March were down 4.2 per cent. General Merchandise was down 4.8 per cent and Food down 3.7 per cent. Group sales in total rose were up by 1.9 per cent with UK sales down 0.3%. General Merchandise fell by 1.2 per cent (Clothing -1.0 per cent; Home -2.3 per cent) but Food rose by 0.4 per cent. Online sales rose by 20 per cent with international sales up by 23 per cent Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman said: 'We have made progress against the key priorities set out at the interim results in November. Our customers are responding positively to the actions we have taken, resulting in an improved sales performance this quarter in both General Merchandise and Foods. International continues to grow strongly and we have managed our costs and cash flow tightly. Our trading stance remains 'first price, right price' with four main sale events a year. We are offering even better values across all price points in General Merchandise and Foods - without compromising our quality or ethical standards. While the outlook remains uncertain, we are confident that we are doing the right things for our customers and for our business.
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