M&S clothing sales fall for 10th straight quarter

LONDON, England - Marks & Spencer's much vaunted new ranges failed to prevent the British retailer's clothing sales falling for a tenth consecutive quarter, though the firm avoided a formal profit warning thanks to a solid performance from food.

The firm did, however, cut its UK gross margin guidance for the full 2013-14 year to level from previous guidance of a rise of 30 to 50 basis points, reflecting pre-Christmas discounting.

Britain's biggest clothing retailer, which also sells homewares and food, said on Thursday sales of non-food products, spanning clothing, footwear and homewares, at stores open over a year fell 2.1 percent in the three months to Dec. 28, its fiscal third quarter.

That compared with forecasts in a range of flat to down 1.5 percent, according to analysts who published estimates after M&S stepped-up promotional activity in December, and a second quarter decline of 1.3 percent.

M&S's food business, which contributes over half of group sales, is performing better. Its sales on the same basis rose 1.6 percent versus analysts' forecasts of a rise of 1.1-2.5 percent. However, the outcome did represent a slowdown from growth of 3.2 percent in the previous quarter.