Latest news with #clothingSales
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
M&S fashion rivals ‘benefited from its pause on online orders after cyber-attack'
Next, Zara and H&M all benefited from extra sales when their rival Marks & Spencer was forced to halt orders on its website for almost seven weeks after a major cyber-attack that weighed on its own sales. Clothing sales at M&S slumped by a fifth in the four weeks to 25 May compared with the same period a year before after the website, which usually accounts for a third of M&S's clothing and homeware sales, stopped taking orders. Sales had soared 11.5% in the prior three months, according to the latest figures from analysts at Kantar. M&S was forced to stop trade on its website – which sells clothing, homeware, gifts and flowers – on 25 April and did not restart trade until 10 June, so the business missed out on a bumper few weeks in the clothing trade as Britons splashed out on summer essentials during a warm spell. The collapse came despite an industry-wide pickup in sales, with growth rising to 4% during the four weeks to 25 May, up from 1% in the previous four weeks. M&S said the cyber-attack was 'a moment in time', and its stores had performed well 'across all fashion categories and particularly womenswear' when orders on its website were paused. 'This underlines the strength of our product offer – where quality and value perceptions remain market-leading and style perceptions continuing to increase – and loyalty of our customers. A big thank you to them for shopping with us.' It said the strong performance in stores meant that M&S had still managed to hold on to its position as the UK's biggest clothing retailer, by value. Analysts at Jefferies compared M&S's performance with its closest rivals over two 12-week periods – the three months to 25 May and three months to mid April – and M&S's sales growth fell to 1% in the later period from 11.5% before. In contrast, Next brand sales growth rose to 4.8% from 1.6%. James Grzinic, a retail analyst at Jefferies, said this showed the brand had been 'benefiting from the digital disruption seen by major peer [M&S]'. While Zara and H&M's share of the UK market is smaller so that Kantar's market research is perhaps a less reliable guide, it indicates both brands experienced a big pickup in trade, helped by their online service as M&S moved offline. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Zara's sales growth rose to 27.8% from 16.1% reported in the prior month, while H&M stepped up to +18.1% from +8.9% previously. One brand that did not experience a pickup in trade was Primark, where sales growth fell to +2.7% from 3.1%, which, Grzinic said, 'confirms that [Primark's] lack of online exposure prevented any market share gains from [M&S's] online fallout'.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US clothing sales climb in May despite less pre-tariff stockpiling
The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor data revealed sales in US clothing and accessory stores grew by 0.67% in May 2025, after adjusting for seasonal variations. This sector experienced a 3.21% increase over the same month last year, without seasonal adjustments, though this is a decrease from the 5.14% year-on-year growth observed in April 2025. NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said: 'The data for May indicates that the pull-forward in consumer demand ahead of tariffs is likely dissipating. While momentum remains, the nature of consumer spending is shifting as economic uncertainty increases. Consumer fundamentals haven't been damaged yet, and a slowing-but-still-growing job market is supporting household priorities ahead of any meaningful price increases in the coming months.' The Retail Monitor, which is powered by Affinity Solutions shows that overall retail sales, with the exclusion of automobiles and gasoline, increased by 0.49% after seasonal adjustment from the previous month and saw a 4.44% unadjusted increase compared to last year's figures for May. These figures are slightly down from April's increases of 0.72% month over month and 6.76% year over year. Core retail sales, which exclude restaurants as well as automobile dealers and gasoline stations, rose by 0.23% from the previous month in May and saw a yearly increase of 4.2%. This is contrasted with April's higher increases of 0.9% month over month and 7.11% year over year. For the first five months of the year, total sales have risen by 4.95% compared to the previous year, while core sales have seen a 5.24% increase. On an annual basis, May sales increased in seven out of nine categories, with digital products, sporting goods stores, and general merchandise stores leading the growth. On a monthly basis, six categories reported increases. Sales in sporting goods, hobby, music, and bookstores saw a seasonally adjusted monthly rise of 0.42% and an unadjusted annual increase of 8.21%. Conversely, furniture and home furnishings stores experienced a 0.24% decrease on a monthly basis and declined 0.1% annually, once seasonally adjusted. The latest Global Port Tracker released last month by the NRF and Hackett Associates revealed that US container ports are expected to see heightened cargo imports in upcoming months due to retailers planning to take advantage of a temporary 90-day reduction on tariffs for goods imported from China. "US clothing sales climb in May despite less pre-tariff stockpiling" was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
