M&S Christmas ‘could be one of its worst’

Marks & Spencer looks set to have suffered one of its worst Christmas trading performances in more than 80 years as a public company, according to the Sunday Times this weekend.

It said the retailer is expected to reveal that sales of general merchandise, excluding food, fell by between 6 and 8% during the third quarter, with margins eroded by deep discounting in the run-up to Christmas.

Overall, sales are likely to have slumped by between 5.5 and 9.6%.