Marks & Spencer says that strong soft-fruit sales helped it to achieve a 0.3 per cent increase in like-for-like sales for the first quarter of the year.
The upmarket retailer's overall food sales performed strongly, with a 1.8 per cent rise for the quarter ending 29 June.
M&S CEO Marc Bolland said that high sales of berries as well as a positive reaction to its Delicious & Nutritious healthy ready-meal range helped to drive growth in the food category, despite the absence of a big event such as last year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Meanwhile, international sales rose by 8.7 per cent in the quarter while online grocery sales increased 30 per cent, with combined sales of mobile and click-and-collect up 160 per cent.
'Our food business delivered another excellent performance, continuing the strong underlying trend,' said Bolland.
Despite general merchandise sales falling 1.6 per cent, Bolland insisted that the retailer is making 'positive progress'. He added:“We continue to make good progress with our plans to transform M&S into an international, multi-channel retailer.”
M&Ssold over 20 million individual strawberries during the first week of Wimbledon, making the popular berry the week’s biggest-selling food item.
