Marks & Spencer clothing sales fall for TWO years straight BUT retailer hopes Autumn/Winter range will stem tide Non-food sales fall another 1.6 per cent to mark two years of decline But sales fall not as bad as in previous trading updates Boss Marc Bolland pins hopes on new range to revive flagging sales Marks & Spencer posted an eighth consecutive quarterly fall in clothing and general merchandise sales this morning, although the retailer appears to have stemmed the rate of decline to some extent. The fall in sales will nonetheless ratchet up the pressure on management to deliver a swift turnaround when Autumn/Winter ranges start hitting the shops later this month. The 129-year-old group, which serves 21million customers a week from 766 British stores, said sales of non-food products, spanning clothing, footwear and homeware, at stores open over a year fell 1.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to the end of June compared to a year earlier. Sales slump: Marks and Spencer reported non-food sales fell for the eighth quarter in a row today but as usual the retailer's results were saved by strong growth in its food division That compared with market expectations of a fall of 0.2 per cent to 3 per cent, according to the retailer's own polling data, and a decline of 3.8 per cent in the previous three months which marked the end of retailer's financial year. But non-food sales were offset by a 1.8 per cent year-on-year gain in food sales. Total UK sales were up 2.7 per cent in the quarter, with food up by 4.5 per cent and general merchandise ahead by 0.5 per cent. M&S.com pushed sales ahead by almost 30 per cent, boosted by the introduction of free next day delivery to stores, and international sales rose by 8.7 per cent. In general merchandise we have seen some improvement, despite difficult trading conditions and further intensification of promotional activity in the market," M&S said. Marc Bolland, who has been chief executive of the retailer since 2010, has been under increasing pressure to stem the decline in M&S's core clothing division and is pinning his hopes on a new clothing strategy based on more stylish and higher-quality garments. He and his management team face shareholders at the group's annual meeting at Wembley Stadium today and they are likely to face tough questions from the expected 2,000-strong crowd. Shareholders will also be given a preview of the new ranges, which were well-received by the fashion press when they were launched last month. Autumn/Winter range: M&S Boss Marc Bolland is pinning his hopes on the success of the retailer's new Autumn/Winter range to turn sales around M&S's Autumn/Winter ranges were unveiled in May by the new general merchandise team, led by John Dixon, the former boss of the retailer's food division and the generally positive reviews from both City analysts and the fashions press, as well as speculation that M&S was the subject of a foreign takeover bid, led shares to a five-year high. The retailer's share price rose 0.50 per cent an hour into the trading day at 462.05p, as investors saw positive news in the fact that the fall in clothing sales was less than in previous trading updates. M&S's share price is up 45 per cent on a year ago despite the declining sales in its non-food division making it one of the leading stocks on the FTSE 100 index, at three times the growth on the index overall. James McGregor, director of retail consultants, Retail Remedy, said: "With strong food and still struggling general merchandise, these numbers were pretty much what was expected. In fairness, the general merchandise figure isn't that bad given market conditions and M&S may even have outperformed certain other retailers. M&S should take heart from the fact that its online channel is doing so well. The future for M&S is the digital and not the twinset generation. The new online platform launching next year will only strengthen this channel. 'It's now all about the Autumn/Winter range. A huge amount is riding on the new range and its main challenge is to satisfy both the retailer's traditional and younger customers. Sales data for this three month period will be the last to fully reflect the clothing range purchased by the previous buying team. That team saw the addition of Belinda Earl, the former chief executive of Debenhams and Jaeger, as head of style in April, following the departure of Janie Schaffer after just three months. Ms Earl has been charged with regenerating Marks' reputation among its core, mature female clothes customers. The sales outcome today represented M&S's best non-food performance since the same period in 2011, when like-for-like sales were flat, the firm did benefit from easy comparative numbers, as in the first quarter of its last financial year like-for-like sales had slumped 6.8 per cent. But it was M&S's food business, which contributes over half of group sales, that once again saved the retailer in terms of overall performance. Janie Schaffer, the former 'knicker queen' designer for Victoria's Secret who was hired by Marks & Spencer at the start of this year is suing the retailer for an undisclosed figure, said to be "well in excess" in £1million. Ms Schaffer resigned just 3 months into her post as director of lingerie and beauty at M&S. She is seeking damages for Victoria's Secret shares she claims she lost out on because M&S were so keen for to start at the soonest possible opportunity. She is also suing for the remainder of her years" salary, having started the role in January 2013 and quit in April. The food business is benefiting from product innovation, a focus on providing for special occasions and M&S's avoidance of any involvement in a scandal over foods found to contain horsemeat when they were labelled as containing other meats. "Given the challenging trading conditions, we remain cautious about the outlook and continue to manage the business tightly," M&S said. Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "M&S has had mixed fortunes across its different business lines, with early trading activity being focused on guarded optimism towards general merchandise. Within clothing, hopes are firmly pinned to the launch of the Autumn/Winter range which, having already received critical acclaim, has yet to face the acid test of consumer choice. Within the investment case, the previously announced reduction in capital expenditure implies management confidence in prospects, whilst the dividend yield of 3.7 per cent remains supportive in the current interest rate environment. The launch of the new range from the end of this month is likely to provide - one way or another - the next sense of true direction for the shares.