Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, has announced that the retailer has completed the first part of its recovery plan.
The M&S third quarter trading statement for the 13 weeks to December 30, 2006, showed that UK sales were up 9.2 per cent - with food sales rising by 9.5 per cent and sales of general merchandise increasing by 9.0 per cent.
UK like-for-like sales were up 5.6 per cent - with food rising by 3.6 per cent and general merchandise up 7.1 per cent, according to M&S figures.
The growth comes despite a slower run up to Christmas, said M&S. Food sales built on a very strong Christmas in 2005 with the market share growing to 4.3 per cent.
The biggest growth was seen online - with sales up 70 per cent and more than nine million customers visiting the M&S website over the period, according to the statement.
International sales rose by 18.2 per cent over the period.
The announcement follows news that 12,000 M&S employees will benefit from gains in share save schemes maturing this month worth £56 million.
Rose said: “M&S had a good Christmas. In the fourth quarter, we come up against significantly tougher comparatives, while facing a more challenging retail environment.
“This quarter will be impacted by the next phase of our store modernisation programme, which starts earlier than last year. We plan to have more than 70 per cent of our store space in the new format by Christmas 2007.
“If our performance continues in the fourth quarter, we anticipate paying a bonus to all staff.
“We have now delivered growth on growth in all areas of our business, thus completing the first part of our recovery plan. We remain on track to further drive and broaden our business.”
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