Demi
Wed, Oct-13-04, 14:32
Daily Mail, UK
12 October, 2004
Now even M&S foods have gone a little stale
Sales down 2.6% as chain’s groceries fall out of fashion with its clothes
By Sean Poulter
Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Its clothes may cling stubbornly to the rails but even in Marks & Spencer’s toughest times, food has flown off the shelves.
Yesterday the company admitted that those days could be over.
Its latest figures show disappointing food sales over the past three months.
M&S has long been known for the quality of its food, with customers willing to pay a little more for something superior to normal supermarket fare.
But upmarket ranges such as Tesco’s Finest and Taste the Difference from Sainsbury’s have had an impact.
Both supermarkets are heavily promoting their higher quality ranges, tempting loyal customers away from M&S.
At the same time, the company (M&S) has admitted failing to keep up with changing tastes in foods.
In the past, M&S won enormous sales with its traditional steak and kidney pies, suet puddings and potato-topped pies.
Pastry fruit pies and apple crumble, enjoyed by older generations because of their association with home cooking, have also been big sellers.
But it appears the public’s appetite for low-carbohydrate diets has seen customers turn away from their favourites.
Marks and Spencer’s diet range, Count on Us - which concentrates on low fat rather than low carbs – has paid the price with faltering sales.
M&S has tried to respond to the changes, rebranding some of its gourmet ready meals under the ‘gastropub’ label.
It is also selling meal kits, enabling families to create their own curries and other dishes using prepared ingredients.
Some sections of its stores also have signs pointing out low-carb meal options and snacks.
But these measures have yet to result in more sales. The latest figures from M&S show like-for-like sales in the food department fell 2.6% in the 12 weeks to October 2.
Sales of clothing and homeware were down 7.7% for that period, confirming previous announcements <of falling profits> . Food sales continued to fall in the final two weeks of the period, while other sectors remained static.
M&S expects pre-tax profits for the first half of the financial year to come in at around £285-£295 million. That would be down from £325 million for the same period last year. The continued slump in M&S food sales set alarm bells ringing in the City.
Brokers at Merrill Lynch warned: ‘This is an established trend on food and the real issue seems to be better competition and not enough product innovation – not an easy challenge to address’.
M&S said the City should not draw any conclusions from the figures.
NB: This article is not available online at the moment, so I can’t provide a link – however, it may be available tomorrow.
Some sections of its stores also have signs pointing out low-carb meal options and snacks.
But these measures have yet to result in more sales.
Hardly surprising, because M&S don’t seem to have any idea as to what constitutes low carb – my local M&S has sausage rolls (sausages wrapped in pastry) on offer under the low carb sign, for example!
I have also written to them on several occasions to ask about the possiblity of low carb products, only to be informed that they don’t cater for ‘fad’ diets.
If it is a fad diet, then why are so many people following it, and why has M&S sales of low-fat products declined.
Like many institutions that have been around for a long time, they think they know best and very rarely listen to what their customers actually want.
Despite the fact that the low carb diet (particularly Atkins) is trashed by the media etc., in the UK, the general public are definitely seem to be in favour of it - if it is a 'fad' and is bad for you, then why do so many want low carb products etc and sales of low fat products etc continue to fall.
12 October, 2004
Now even M&S foods have gone a little stale
Sales down 2.6% as chain’s groceries fall out of fashion with its clothes
By Sean Poulter
Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Its clothes may cling stubbornly to the rails but even in Marks & Spencer’s toughest times, food has flown off the shelves.
Yesterday the company admitted that those days could be over.
Its latest figures show disappointing food sales over the past three months.
M&S has long been known for the quality of its food, with customers willing to pay a little more for something superior to normal supermarket fare.
But upmarket ranges such as Tesco’s Finest and Taste the Difference from Sainsbury’s have had an impact.
Both supermarkets are heavily promoting their higher quality ranges, tempting loyal customers away from M&S.
At the same time, the company (M&S) has admitted failing to keep up with changing tastes in foods.
In the past, M&S won enormous sales with its traditional steak and kidney pies, suet puddings and potato-topped pies.
Pastry fruit pies and apple crumble, enjoyed by older generations because of their association with home cooking, have also been big sellers.
But it appears the public’s appetite for low-carbohydrate diets has seen customers turn away from their favourites.
Marks and Spencer’s diet range, Count on Us - which concentrates on low fat rather than low carbs – has paid the price with faltering sales.
M&S has tried to respond to the changes, rebranding some of its gourmet ready meals under the ‘gastropub’ label.
It is also selling meal kits, enabling families to create their own curries and other dishes using prepared ingredients.
Some sections of its stores also have signs pointing out low-carb meal options and snacks.
But these measures have yet to result in more sales. The latest figures from M&S show like-for-like sales in the food department fell 2.6% in the 12 weeks to October 2.
Sales of clothing and homeware were down 7.7% for that period, confirming previous announcements <of falling profits> . Food sales continued to fall in the final two weeks of the period, while other sectors remained static.
M&S expects pre-tax profits for the first half of the financial year to come in at around £285-£295 million. That would be down from £325 million for the same period last year. The continued slump in M&S food sales set alarm bells ringing in the City.
Brokers at Merrill Lynch warned: ‘This is an established trend on food and the real issue seems to be better competition and not enough product innovation – not an easy challenge to address’.
M&S said the City should not draw any conclusions from the figures.
NB: This article is not available online at the moment, so I can’t provide a link – however, it may be available tomorrow.
Some sections of its stores also have signs pointing out low-carb meal options and snacks.
But these measures have yet to result in more sales.
Hardly surprising, because M&S don’t seem to have any idea as to what constitutes low carb – my local M&S has sausage rolls (sausages wrapped in pastry) on offer under the low carb sign, for example!
I have also written to them on several occasions to ask about the possiblity of low carb products, only to be informed that they don’t cater for ‘fad’ diets.
If it is a fad diet, then why are so many people following it, and why has M&S sales of low-fat products declined.
Like many institutions that have been around for a long time, they think they know best and very rarely listen to what their customers actually want.
Despite the fact that the low carb diet (particularly Atkins) is trashed by the media etc., in the UK, the general public are definitely seem to be in favour of it - if it is a 'fad' and is bad for you, then why do so many want low carb products etc and sales of low fat products etc continue to fall.