Kate Bostock out, Belinda Earl in at M&S Marks & Spencer has unveiled its worst quarterly figures in years and announced a management shake-up that will see Kate Bostock, the head of clothing, leave and fashion expert Belinda Earl join the retailer. As high street giant Marks & Spencer announce a substantial 6.8 per cent drop in non-food sales for the 13 weeks to June 30, with clothing sales - especially womenswear - most affected, chief executive, Marc Bolland, has this morning announced that Kate Bostock, the executive director of General Merchandise, will be leaving by mutual consent to pursue other interests. She will step down from the board and leave M&S on October 1. Her role will be taken up by John Dixon, an M&S veteran who is currently Executive Director of Food. He is widely seen as a "safe pair of hands" who has helped pioneer the hugely successful Dine-in-for-£10. Steve Rowe, currently Director of Retail, will replace him as head of Food. Belinda Earl, the former chief executive of Debenhams, Aquascutum and Jaeger (from where she stepped down in March 2012 due to health reasons), will join the retailer as Style Director from September 1 in a newly-created part-time role. Outsiders say that the ranges of clothes have failed to capture the imagination of consumers with small disposable income. At the end of June it was revealed that rival fashion chain Next had overtaken M&S for the first time.