M&S boss slashes sales targets

Despite efforts to pull in customers with celebrity-laden advertising campaigns, featuring the likes of actresses Joanna Lumley and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and actor Ryan Reynolds, like-for-like sales of general merchandise fell 1.8 per cent in the last year.

The decline was driven by a mixed performance in womenswear and home, with the latter impacted by the company’s decision to exit the technology market.

Helped by a stronger performance in food, M&S saw underlying pre-tax profits drop one per cent to £705.9m in the year to March 31, while total sales grew two per cent to £9.9bn.

In November 2010, Mr Bolland set a target to grow revenues by between £1.5bn and £2.5bn over three years but as a result of the harsh economic climate has cut this target to between £1.1bn and £1.7bn.

In addition, Mr Bolland said the group now expected to invest £200m less in its UK stores over the remaining two years of its strategy review.