Brands boost food like-for-like sales at M&S
Speaking as the firm posted a 0.3% rise in like-for-like food sales and a 1.8% rise in total food sales in the year to April 3, chairman Sir Stuart Rose said the roll-out of 400 branded productsto 280 stores would be completed by the summer.
He added: "Branded goods have driven an increase in the average number of items bought during each visit and we are seeing strong like-for-like growth in the original trial stores."
More 'Dine-in' deals were also on the cards following the success of the "Dine in for £10" deal, he said: "Dine-in promotions remain one of the key footfall drivers and we continued to look at new ways of extending this promotional format, from everyday meal combinations such as pizza, salad and garlic bread for just £5, to special occasions such as a Mother’s Day roast dinner for four at £15."
M&S was also committed to refreshing 25% of its total food range every year, while better control of supply chain systems had improved availability and reduced waste, he claimed.
"We have improved on-shelf-availability through better merchandising and distribution. We have also reduced levels of waste.
"Next year we will be introducing new forecasting systems which will ensure we display our food ranges to customers in the best possible way, further improving availability so that our customer service proposition matches the high quality of our food offer."
He added: "We are well underway with the roll-out of SAP, which will be our core business system. Over the last few months, phase one of SAP has been successfully implemented in foods".
However, food gross margins were down 95 basis points to 30.6%, "reflecting further investment in price and increased promotional activity", he said.
