Stuart Rose was his usual cautious self when Marks & Spencer released its latest trading figures. He avoided the word recovery, even though same-store sales surged 6.8% in the three months to April 1, a much bigger jump than analysts had expected.
Mr Rose rightly pointed out - something also mentioned by Credit Suisse First Boston - that the sales update was somewhat flattered by comparison with the previous weak quarter. For the M&S boss who took over in 2004, the real test will come at Christmas.
There have been false dawns at M&S before. Things perked up after Luc Vandevelde took the helm at M&S in 2000, but the recovery ran out of steam, paving the way for Philip Green's audacious £9bn takeover bid in the summer of 2004.
That was when M&S brought in Mr Rose as part of its attempt to foil Mr Green, the owner of Bhs, who offered 400p a share.
Business
No comments:
Post a Comment