Sales at Marks & Spencer dropped 5.3 per cent in the last three months, the high street chain has revealed, with its food business particularly affected.
The director of food, Steven Esom, is to step down immediately. He will be replaced by John Dixon, who currently heads up M&S Home and delivery business M&S Direct.
Shares in the chain have fallen by more than 20 per cent.
Like-for-like food sales were down 4.5 per cent, while general merchandise sales fell 6.2 per cent in the last three months.
The retailer had already warned that consumer confidence was falling, following a difficult start to its 2008-09 financial year.
But chairman Sir Stuart Rose said that, since then, “consumer confidence levels have deteriorated markedly and market conditions have become more challenging”.
“Pressures on consumer spending and increased competitor pricing and promotional activity, coupled with changes in consumer buying patterns, have resulted in a significantly weaker performance,” he said.
“In order to meet these challenging market conditions, we need to increase the pace of change on a number of operating and trading initiatives.”
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