Marks & Spencer is topped king after High Street meals battle

Controversial: But M&S’s Christmas advertisements, which starred Hannah Waddingham, paid off

Marks & Spencer is successful the battle of the meals aisles as figures present the revitalised retailer was the best-performing grocer within the run-up to Christmas.

The High Street stalwart has been on a roll since chief govt Stuart Machin and chairman Archie Norman led a restoration that has seen its share worth greater than double up to now yr, which propelled M&S again into the FTSE 100 index of main corporations after a four-year absence.

The retailer’s Christmas advert that includes celebrities resembling actress Hannah Waddingham and pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor brought on a stir after they had been seen destroying a lot of conventional festive objects, together with a gingerbread home and paper crowns.

But the controversial marketing campaign has paid off, in line with unpublished information from retail consultants Kantar seen by the Mail on Sunday and analysed by a number one City funding agency.

This reveals that within the essential 4 weeks to Christmas Eve, grocery gross sales at M&S leapt by 14.2 per cent in contrast with the identical interval the earlier yr.

That was barely greater than the mixed progress of the German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl, which between them notched up a 14.1 per cent enhance.

Overall, consumers spent a report £13.7 billion on their Christmas groceries. That pushed common family spending to an all-time excessive of £477, Kantar stated.

Other winners included Sainsbury’s – the place gross sales had been 9.5 per cent greater – and price range retailer B&M, up 7.4 per cent over the identical interval. They had been the one different retailers to outperform the common market progress of seven.1 per cent seen throughout the sector as Christmas approached, the info confirmed.

Festive: M&S’s Trifle Caked Alaska

The worst performer was Ocado, the place gross sales grew by a mere 0.5 per cent. The on-line retailer has a three way partnership with M&S.

Archie Norman, the M&S chairman, has stated he’s ‘not joyful’ with the three way partnership’s efficiency and stated there was ‘work to do’ to enhance the loss-making partnership. The deal, struck in 2019 and price as a lot as £750 million, changed a earlier tie-up between Ocado and Waitrose. M&S reportedly added practically 600 merchandise to Ocado’s web site earlier than Christmas.

More particulars on how the three way partnership goes are anticipated when M&S and Ocado replace traders on buying and selling within the subsequent few days.

Analysts at funding financial institution Jefferies say outcomes from M&S will ‘replicate its renewed energy’.

They count on double-digit proportion gross sales progress within the three months to December – fuelled by meals, its greatest enterprise – with M&S on observe to put up full-year earnings of £705 million, versus £482 million within the earlier yr.

But the Kantar figures seen by The Mail on Sunday make grim studying for Morrisons and Asda.

They had been saddled with debt after personal fairness teams purchased each corporations simply earlier than the grocery market was hit by hovering power prices and rates of interest rocketed.

Morrisons, which buy-out agency CD&R acquired for £7 billion, noticed its gross sales nudge simply 2.1 per cent greater within the month earlier than Christmas. Asda fared higher, with gross sales up 5.1 per cent however nonetheless lagging the broader market. Its personal fairness proprietor TDR Capital is because of give proof to MPs on Tuesday about its debt-fuelled takeover, which left Asda nonetheless nursing money owed of £4.2 billion, excluding hire.

Co-owner Mohsin Issa insisted earlier than the Business and Trade choose committee final month that he was finest particular person to run Asda whereas the 18-month hunt for a chief govt continues.