It’s a measure of how hellish conditions have become that a 6.1 per cent like-for-like sales fall at Marks & Spencer was regarded as not too bad.

Dire as it was, the retailer’s second-quarter performance was better than feared and the City liked the reduction in operating cost growth and cuts to capital expenditure.

Analysts in the main stuck with their pre-update forecasts, although expectations have been reined back recently. Even Pali analyst Nick Bubb, one of the grizzliest of the bears on M&S, upgraded his recommendation from sell to neutral.

All is not rosy in the garden though. Margins are taking a bashing and there’s no sign that life is going to get any easier for M&S or the stores sector for a while yet. But Sir Stuart Rose put on a confident face last week. He was pleased with the new season’s fashions, he said the relationship with suppliers had “settled down” and remained convinced that retailers that can provide value will ride the downturn best.

Since the start of this year, Rose’s deft touch has been put to the test. Criticism of his new role widened to criticism of his strategy and leadership. No doubt he has made some mistakes but, as retail profit warnings mount and once mighty banks collapse, the performance of M&S can be better contextualised. It’s not going to be a year to remember – for pleasant reasons anyway – but it certainly seems less easy to characterise M&S as the retailer least up to the fight.

Sir Philip Green issued numbers on Tuesday, when he said: “Yes, there’s going to be a shake-out. Yes, the marketplace is tough. But underlying business is not going to disappear.” He was talking about Bhs, but the same could be said of M&S.

All hail Ted

Ted Baker confounded the downturn to post a rise in sales and profits for the first half to August 9.

There are plenty of lessons to learn. Ted’s famous eccentricity is matched by a conservative business approach that pays dividends. Yes, the retailer has developed new store types and range extensions, but it has never lost sight of its core values. Yes, it has expanded internationally, but slowly and surely – with the right partners. Nothing has been done that dilutes the brand or undermines its foundations.

Judging by performance so far, next month’s trading update is likely to be among the better ones.

George MacDonald is deputy editor of Retail Week

Visit retail-week.com today to watch Tim Danaher and George MacDonald discuss the week’s retail news in TGi Friday

Topics