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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/retailer-to-reveal-christmas-profit.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Marks and Spencer is set to reveal how well it performed over Christmas" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/min-retailer-to-reveal-christmas-profit.jpg" alt="Marks and Spencer is set to reveal how well it performed over Christmas"/></a></p>
<p>The high street is to come under scrutiny again as retail giant Marks &#038; Spencer reveals how well it performed over Christmas.</p>
<p>The household name enjoyed a good run in 2010 with like-for-like sales consistently beating expectations and profits in the first half of the financial year up 17% at £348.6 million.</p>
<p>But fellow high street retailers &#8211; such as Next, Debenhams and HMV &#8211; have revealed difficult trading in the run up to Christmas as sub-zero temperatures and snow kept potential shoppers indoors.</p>
<p>Analysts&#8217; consensus figures predict total like-for-like sales will be up 2%, which includes a 1.5% rise for food and 2.5% for general merchandise, such as clothing.</p>
<p>But one analyst &#8211; at Deutsche Bank &#8211; believes Marks &#038; Spencer could have lost up to £70 million of sales due to the severe weather last month, as the upper end of M&#038;S&#8217;s older customer base may have struggled to get into stores throughout December.</p>
<p>The trading update will be the first since new chief executive Marc Bolland unveiled his three-year plan, including a drive to place the chain&#8217;s own brand at the forefront of the vision for the business.</p>
<p>In clothing, as well as boosting the chain&#8217;s own brand, the company plans to invest in its sub-brands &#8211; such as womenswear ranges Per Una and Indigo Collection &#8211; through improved marketing and clearer positioning in stores.</p>
<p>Mr Bolland also plans to strip back the non-M&#038;S food lines on offer, but the company will increase the total food range from 7,000 to 8,000 lines. The former Morrisons boss also said £150 million will be invested into the group&#8217;s online business.</p>
<p>Jean Roche, analyst at brokers Panmure Gordon, said increasing investment over the next three years puts pressure on the company to deliver higher profit margins at a tough time for the UK consumer.</p>
<p>But she added: &#8220;We are positive on M&#038;S&#8217;s brand, relative exposure to a more wealthy customer, its multichannel model, its growing international business and the recovery and repositioning of the food business.&#8221;</p>
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