Marks and Spencer Group Plc’ share price down, posts a decline in clothing sales amid new website design

The biggest clothing retailer in the U.K. – Marks & Spencer Group Plc made an official statement today, saying that its apparel sales continued their decline over the first fiscal quarter as customers needed to adapt to the new design of the companys website. The company also explained that it finds the market conditions are still challenging no matter that clients confidence has improved.

Mr. Marc Bolland, the Chief Executive Officer of M&S said in the companys statement, which was cited by the Wall Street Journal: “We have seen a continued improvement in clothing, although as anticipated the settling in of the new M&S.com site has had an impact on sales.” As reported by the Financial Times, Mr. Bolland also said that the company has recently seen “a gradual improvement in sales performance, despite a lower level of promotional activity” when it comes to its online business. He added: “We expect to return to growth ahead of our peak trading period.”

According to the statement of M&S, the companys same-store sales decreased 0.6% this quarter, in contrast to the 0.6% gain reported in the previous quarter. The company also posted a 8.1% fall in its online sales. Still, the clothing retailer announced that its group sales increased by 2.3% over the quarter ended June 28th in comparison to the 3.3% increase over the same period in 2013.

According to the companys Chief Financial Officer Mr. Alan Stewart, same-store sales, which are crucial to Marks & Spencer, were “slightly” up. The company also shared its belief that reducing the decline in online sales helped womens clothing turn back to growth over the quarter.

Marks and Spencer Group Plc was losing 1.82% to trade at 425.30 pence per share by 9:30 GMT, marking a one year change of -7.48%. According to the information published on the Financial Times, the 21 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Marks and Spencer Group Plc have a median target of 485.00, with a high estimate of 617.00 and a low estimate of 340.00. The median estimate represents a 11.96% increase from the last price of 433.20.