As the Huffington Post alluded to yesterday, British retailer Marks and Spencer has announced a fall in profits, the first of its kind for three years. This annual loss bucks the trend of what was Britain's most profitable retailer, when it was the first to make £1bn in a year.



Despite high-profile advertising featuring actresses Joanna Lumley and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and actor Ryan Reynolds, as well as musician Gary Barlow, sales of general merchandise have fallen, and sales of its non-food products in the UK fell by 1.8% last year.

The company made an underlying pre-tax profit of £706m, down from last year £714m, though total sales actually increased from £9.74bn to £9.93bn.

But the most damning statistic to shareholders sees M&S fall behind Tesco, J Sainsbury, WM Morrison and Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q .

On BBC Breakfast this morning, chief executive Marc Bolland came under yet more pressure after his three-year projections have been tempered against a "gloomy" high-street, as well as raised eyebrows over his reported £6m salary.

He said: “Marks & Spencer performed well in a challenging economic environment, growing group sales by 2pc and holding market share. We also made good progress with our strategic plans. We are making good progress but successful execution of our strategy requires us to adapt to both market opportunities and current market conditions.

"In November 2010 we set out a target to grow our revenues by £1.5bn to £2.5bn over the next three years. As a result of the deterioration in the economic environment since we set out our plan, we now expect to achieve £1.1bn to £1.7bn increase in revenues. While conditions in the UK are predicted to be more difficult than originally forecast, we are on track to deliver both international and multi-channel targets."

Though adjustments have been made in M&S' grocery line with the unveiling of cost-effective "Simply Food", gains by their rivals and competitors in the clothing sector, notably by Next and Primark as well as the supermarkets, has stolen many shoppers who are prepared to shop their for their basic clothing in grocery chains.