Marks & Spencer set to stock branded goods for first time

Published on Wednesday 4 November 2009 08:54

MARKS & Spencer today announced plans to introduce 400 branded products to its shelves for the first time as it revealed an unexpected rise in half-year profits.

Popular names like Kellogg's, Coca-Cola and Marmite are set to appear in M&S stores across the UK after a successful trial in stores in the North East and South East of England.

The company said it could "simply never compete" with certain popular brands and was introducing them to its shops for the convenience of customers.

M&S today announced profits of 298.3 million for the six months to 26 September, ahead of City forecasts and slightly stronger than a year earlier.

It said the third quarter of the financial year had got off to a good start, but added trading conditions remained competitive. Sales were up 2.8 per cent at 4.3bn, representing a 1.8 per cent increase in UK sales and 12.2 per cent internationally.

The company said this autumn/winter had been its best ever season for boots, with more than 330,000 pairs sold so far.

M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose said: "We are pleased with our first half performance. Our strong customer offer, together with tight management of costs and margin, has allowed us to report a profit slightly ahead of last year, despite a challenging economic environment.

"We increased our share of the clothing market over the period, and our performance in food has also improved."

He also said he remained "cautious" about the outlook for Christmas and the year ahead.

Sir Stuart said the decision to stock branded household goods and groceries would save customers' time and avoid the need for them to shop elsewhere for "must-have branded products".

No M&S products are to be dropped as a result of the move, which will focus on lines where the retailer would have a lower share of the market like soft drinks, beer, laundry and confectionery. Some items will also plug gaps where it does not currently have an own label product.

The firm said the range – which will also include products from Heinz, Fairy, Pantene and Persil – will be rolled out to M&S outlets over the next year, starting this month with additional stores in the trial areas and extending to other regions from next January.

&#149 Clothing chain Next also reported better than expected performance today.

An interim management statement said total retail sales rose by 2.2 per cent in the third quarter to 31 October, and predicted a pre-tax profit for the year of 472m, ten per cent up on last year.