Marks & Spencer has posted a strong increase in food, clothing and home sales in the 13 weeks to 31 December.
The company said its investment in value helped food sales to rise by 6.3% on a like-for-like basis. Its top tier M&S Collection range also performed well with sales growing by over 20%. The food business generated its largest ever Christmas sales of over £80 million on 23 December due to improved availability and strong sell-through of seasonal lines including turkeys.
Meanwhile like-for-like clothing and home sales climbed by 8.6% with store and online sales increasing by 12.8% and 0.7% respectively. M&S generated particularly strong sales growth in menswear, formalwear and partywear in the period, and sales of third party brands rose by around 50%.
With total sales increasing by 9.7% to £3.3 billion in the period, the strong performance means that M&S has reiterated full year profit guidance set out in its interim results in November.
