What: The British retailer loss reflects a collapse in clothing sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Why is it important: Marks & Spencer has traded well in the early weeks of the 2021-22 year, expecting profits to recover.

M&S made a pretax profit before one-off items of GBP 50.3 million (USD 71.2 million) in the year to April 3, down from the GBP 403.1 million made in 2019-20.

The 137-year old group said like-for-like clothing and homeware sales plunged 31.5%, damaged by multiple coronavirus lockdowns which shuttered stores. Clothing and homeware sales in stores crashed 56.2%, partly offset by online growth of 53.9%. In food, where space remained open during the crisis, like-for-like sales rose 1.3%.

The retailer is focusing on transforming the company’s culture, while closing stores, investing heavily in technology and e-commerce, and improving product and value. It forecast underlying pretax profit to recover to GBP 300-350 million in 2021-22.

M&S’s Annual Profit Slumps 88% As Covid Crushes Clothing Sales After Store Closures 

M&S full year results 2021 press release