Marks & Spencer hit by slump in non-food sales Marks & Spencer suffered its worst non-food sales for more than three years as a failure to buy the right stock compounded grim high street trends. The retailer, which has more than 700 stores in the UK, blamed stock problems for a 6.8% decline in clothing and general merchandise sales in the 13 weeks to June 30 - its worst performance since the quarter to December 2008. With womenswear hit by high levels of promotions and the wet weather hitting sales of casual tops, non-food boss Kate Bostock will step down as the firm parachutes in former Debenhams chief Belinda Earl as style director to hone its range. Despite high profile adverts featuring celebrities such as Gary Barlow, overall UK like-for-like sales fell 2.8% - also the worst performance for M&S for more than three years - even though food sales rose 0.6%. The dire sales will ramp up pressure on chief executive Marc Bolland at M&S's annual meeting today amid expectations that many shareholders will vote against a pay package that could earn him as much as £6 million. The figures will add to fears that Marks, the UK's biggest fashion retailer, is losing its grip on the key womenswear market, with some analysts reporting that its ranges are off-trend. Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said: "M&S's problems in womenswear go far beyond the weather as they are clearly losing market share." He added that Kate Bostock had been made a scapegoat as Mr Bolland fought for his job. The stock issues were a continuation of the problem it reported in April when it did not buy enough of some of its best selling lines, and said it could have sold more than double the number of pump shoes. However, Marks is confident that it is taking the necessary steps to address the poor performance of its non-food business. As well as the shake-up in the management team, it has improved buying and merchandising and believes its stock will be back on target in time for the autumn-winter season, which will be launched in stores later this month. Sales of coats, jackets and hosiery had done well amid the grim weather but the fall in sales of casual wear hurt it because it traditionally makes up a large proportion of its sales at this time of year. Food sales have been boosted by the celebrations surrounding the Diamond Jubilee, helped by launching its Simply M&S budget range and new products including 200 British lines. The group also said the roll-out its new design of stores was on-track, after it admitted its outlets were difficult to shop in.