Shopping giant Marks & Spencer is trading its way towards a bumper Christmas, positioning the company as one of the festive period’s high street winners.
One source at the 137-year-old group, which has been struggling to nail down a turnaround for more than a decade, said the chain has hit the past few weeks with ‘a real spring in its step’ after sustained efforts by the board to reverse its fortunes.
Figures prepared by Kantar, and circulated among the market research firm’s clients, show that M&S was the only large food retailer to increase sales during November compared with last year.
Campaign: The Percy Pig character has been starring in Marks & Spencer’s Christmas adverts
Food and drink sales at M&S rose 5.6 per cent in the four weeks to November 29, compared with a year ago – a whopping 14.6 per cent ahead of 2019.
That compared with a fall of 1.1 per cent at Aldi and Lidl, sources said, and larger declines at other big grocers. M&S, which acquired part of Ocado Retail in 2019, is the only grocer to show consecutive growth over the past four months, according to Steve Dresser at research firm Grocery Insight.
Many shoppers trade up from their normal supermarket to treat themselves and their families as Christmas approaches, suggesting any halo effect over the M&S food business is likely to become more enhanced in the next fortnight.
The company has also been wooing shoppers with TV adverts featuring its Percy Pig confectionery character – with a voiceover by Tom Holland.
Its buoyant sales contrast with last year when Covid restrictions led to the temporary shutdown of stores at travel hubs and closure of parts of its department stores. But
Clive Black, at M&S house broker Shore Capital, said: ‘I think this Christmas, folk have been planning all along to have a bit of a blowout and, in that respect, M&S has had very good momentum going into this. There is no reason to believe they won’t have a very good December.
‘The strategy to broaden the customer base in food, to encourage people to do a full trolley rather than just a basket, is undoubtedly bearing fruit.’
He added: ‘Clothing and home is a longer journey for them. But the product is better and starting to strike the right chord.’
Tesco sales declined 1.4 per cent, the Kantar figures show. Asda and Sainsbury’s lagged with a drop of at least 5 per cent each, while Morrisons fell 7.1 per cent.
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