M&S Too Hot on the High Street

Retailers had a difficult April and May, and while June proved good for sales as the warm weather inspired shoppers to indulge on the summer fashions, it may be too hot on the high street for Marks & Spencer.

Marks & Spencer, who released the first quarter figures last week, could interpret their core clothing business as showing a loss of market share. M&S's growth stalled in the final quarter of last year, and many had been hoping the first quarter would see a resumption of expansion.

Roger Holmes, chief executive, told the Financial Times the he is fairly certain that market share was broadly flat. Analysts reckon that clothing enjoyed like-for-like growth of 3 per cent, with the market as a whole up by about 3.5 per cent.

It is all a reminder that, while M&S may have come a long way from its darkest days, fierce competition means it is never likely to regain the high street prominence of old and its traditional share price premium to the sector may not be that deserved.