Thanks Mrs Claus! £39 dress that saved M&S’s Christmas
Super Thursday as High Street’s big names reveal sales surge
A CHRISTMAS spending bonanza saw sales at big name High Street shops soar over the festive season. Most remarkable was Marks & Spencer whose heartwarming TV ad helped it turn around a virtual five-year decline in clothing sales.
The ad showed Santa’s wife Mrs Claus, played by actress Janet McTeer, taking to a helicopter to deliver a present that makes Christmas special for two young children.
The stylish £39.50 red dress she wore flew off the racks with M&S selling some 5,300. Mrs Claus’s glamorous red coat was another winner, while romantic lace blouses, premium turkeys and a 30 per cent surge in sales of prosecco also boosted takings.
Details were revealed yesterday on what was described as a ‘Super Thursday’ for retailers with strong sales reported by Debenhams, John Lewis including Waitrose, Tesco, Primark, JD Sports and SuperGroup.
Online stores did particularly well. Fashion retailer Asos saw sales jump by 18 per cent at the end of last year and electricals specialist AO.com reported a rise of 8.9 per cent.
Earlier this week, retail analysts reported that families spent an extra £480million on food and drink during the festive season compared to the previous year. Sales of pre-
‘Half the population were in a supermarket’
mium food, fizz, confectionery, fine cheese, smoked salmon and deli meats were particularly strong. Such was the frenzy that half the population – 32million people – were in a supermarket the Friday before Christmas.
The figures are at odds with claims that a vote to leave the EU would be a disaster for consumer confidence.
The boost to clothing sales at M&S was surprising. Despite a host of new lines and expensive TV adverts, clothing sales have fallen in every quarter but one for the past five years.
Yesterday’s figures showed sales of clothing and home products in stores open more than a year were up 2.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2016. The figure for food was up by 0.6 per cent, giving a total rise of 1.3 per cent.
New M&S chief Steve Rowe said customers responded to ‘better ranges, better availability and better prices’.
Shares closed up, although early gains were pared back as attention turned to the outlook. Mr Rowe stressed there was more work to do in turning clothing sales around. But he pledged to win back ‘Mrs M&S’ – women shoppers over 50.
Debenhams beat forecasts with a 3.5 per cent increase in underlying sales. And John Lewis department stores reported a 2.7 per cent rise in like- for- like sales over the Christmas trading period. The company is to invest heavily in its website and said this is likely to hit this year’s staff bonus.
Despite all the positive figures, some analysts questioned whether retailers’ sales increases would lead to higher profits. ÷ Tourists flocked to Britain for a Christmas spending binge. High Street spending on foreign bank cards was up 22 per cent year on year in December, according to credit and debit card processor Worldpay.
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