Hundreds of Marks & Spencer staff will find out as soon as Monday whether their store is closing, as the retailer accelerates its retrenchment from struggling UK high streets. The M&S chief executive, Steve Rowe, is shutting 100 of its large clothing and food shops amid falling sales and profits. Clothing and home like-for-like sales are forecast to be down 1.1%, with food sales dropping by 0.2%. Shore Capital analyst Clive Black predicted an improving trend in clothing sales but felt that the food business had fared less well. House of Fraser is also planning store closures, and fashion chain New Look is considering shuttering 60 outlets.

Source: The Guardian May 20, 2018 15:53 UTC