Marks & Spencer has revealed a bigger-than-expected slump in clothing sales over Christmas.
Non-food sales at the retail bellwether were down 3.8%, in the 13 weeks to December 29, pushing overall like-for-like UK sales down 1.8%.
The group, which has drafted in the former Debenhams and Jaeger boss Belinda Earl to revitalise its womenswear, said it had been a "challenging and highly promotional" general merchandise market.
The figures, which had been due for release tomorrow morning, were worse-than-expected, with most analysts predicting a 1.5% like-for-like decline in general merchandise sales.
