Alan Stewart, M

Retail chief Marc Bolland admits to teething issues with new M&S.com site after sales fall 0.6% in quarter to June
Clothing sales fell by 0.6% in the three months to the end of June, while overall non-food sales, including homeware, were down 1.5%, as M&S grappled with teething problems with its new website. Bolland admitted the revamped website had hit sales, especially of big-ticket homeware items that customers are more likely to buy online. quarry market Only the strong performance of M&S's food division helped pull up total UK sales 0.3% against last year.
M&S relaunched its website in February after a £150m makeover that brought more video and magazine-style content to the site. But some customers have had difficulty registering on the site, leading online sales to slump by 8%, the retailer revealed this morning.
Alan Stewart, M&S finance director, said the website would be back on track before M&S's peak shopping period of November-December. quarry market The conversion quarry market rate visitors to the site who make a purchase had been going up he said. "It is a bit like going to the supermarket for milk, they've moved it and you can't find it immediately."
Shareholders gathering at Wembley stadium for M&S's annual general meeting, who in previous years have slammed M&S quarry market for not selling dresses with sleeves, are likely to hone in on clothing, which continues to struggle.
The company said womenswear had shown "a small positive growth" quarry market in like-for-like sales, with one trend-influenced brand, Limited, up 12% on last year. "We don't want to bang on saying that it is job done, because we have always said it is a step-by-step approach," said Bolland. "[The like-for-like sales growth in womenswear] quarry market is one of the signals that step-by-step is working."
But analysts warned M&S quarry market that time was running out to improve its clothing sales. "Clothing at M&S is still very much on the rack and we will need to see strong numbers on a consistent basis to be convinced otherwise," said James McGregor, quarry market director of consultancy firm Retail Remedy. "The problem M&S is facing is the biggest problem of all for a retailer identity. quarry market It still seems unsure who its target market is: the young or the old."
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