M&S sales warmed by the colder weather and Christmas

The Middle East is providing something to cheer for Marks & Spencer which saw rising sales in the region in the last quarter of 2010, offsetting difficult trading in Europe.

Holiday sales brought cheer to Marks & Spencer in the final quarter of last year as Middle East sales growth helped international revenue advance 4.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Overall group sales rose 4 per cent in the 13 weeks to January 1, slightly trailing its international performance, "reflecting a good performance across most of our markets offset by difficult trading conditions in Ireland and Greece," M&S said yesterday.

Sales in the region, where M&S operates with Al Futtaim, were reported to have been "very positive" in November and last month, helped by festive buying and the onset of cooler weather, said Natasha Tulsi, the retailer's marketing manager in the Gulf. .

Christmas-related products were the big sellers, she said, as were thicker garments, bought because of the drop in temperature regionally.

"November and December really surprised us. It was very, very good for our business … it tends to get a little colder in December, so people were buying warm winter wear towards December," she said.

"But more than anything else, it's the festive [shopping] season." She would not disclose specific figures but said sales were "much better" than last year.

The top market for M&S in the region, in terms of sales growth, was Qatar, followed by Kuwait and Abu Dhabi. Sales at stores in the region throughout last year had improved on rising consumer confidence, Ms Tulsi said.

In 2009, "the recession brought with it a general mood of holding back and not spending.

Even if they had the money, they weren't really going crazy with Christmas buying," she said.

"The trend established in 2010 was people were buying more gifts in comparison to 2009. You can actually see an uplift in the mood."

M&S opened its first store in Cairo last month. Ms Tulsi said that it was too early to disclose where else the company planned to expand but that Al Futtaim was looking to add more stores this year.

"We're definitely looking at expanding current territories," Ms Tulsi said.