British retailing giant, Marks and Spencer (M&S), today posted better-than-expected same store sales of 5.1% in the UK in the 13 weeks to March 27 (its fiscal fourth quarter).
Sales were boosted by strong demand for formalwear and knitwear. The company said clothing sales grew 10.1%, while homewares rose 13.3%.
Furthermore, food sales (which have suffered due to strong competition from Waitrose), increased by 2.6% across the group, and by 1.8% in the UK.
Meanwhile, the supermarket’s online brand – M&S Direct – enjoyed a 48% rise following the extension of its “Shop Your Way” ordering service to over 300 stores.
However, the 126-year-old retailer which sells clothes, food and homewares, echoed its rivals and issued caution about prospects for consumer spending.
Meanwhile, the company which has a workforce of almost 80,000 staff in total, said that an £80 million bonus pot would be shared by all employees as a result of its performance.
In a statement, the company said: “We have weathered the immediate impact of the recession but remain cautious about the outlook for 2010/11 given the current challenging environment.”