British retailer Marks and Spencer welcomed a return to growth in first quarter clothing sales today, after a dip in the fourth, as warm weather brought shoppers to the high street.
The growth of 3.9 per cent for the 15 weeks ended July 12th came despite difficult comparisons of a hefty 14.8 per cent rise in clothing sales in the first quarter last year when the firm's recovery was gathering pace after a three-year sales slump.
Clothing accounts for around half of the firm's sales.In April, M&S reported an unexpected dip in clothing sales for the quarter ending March, but said unusual factors such as a late Easter and the Iraq war made it hard to draw any meaningful conclusions from the disappointing performance.
The recovery ties in with figures released by the British Retail Consortium on Monday which said sunny weather in June helped boost food, drink, clothing and footwear sales.
Total sales at M&S during the first quarter - excluding contributions from new, closed or redeveloped stores - were up 3.8 per cent on the year-ago period, with food up 5.1 per cent and non-food up 2.8 per cent.