Marks and Spencer reported a fall in profits yesterday, but
said investment in IT would continue.
The retailer, which released its half-year results, saw a drop
in pre-tax profit from £550.1m last year to £307.8m this year.
Chief executive Stuart Rose said capital expenditure is expected
to drop from £700m in 2008/9 to £400m in 2009/10.
The company said its focus of investment will move from
modernising its stores to investing in its
supply chain and information technology. "This will drive
improvements in costs and operating efficiencies over time", it
said in its results statement.
The company will continue to focus on increasing its number of
international stores, in countries including India, Russia and the
Czech Republic. The investment in IT systems will be designed to
support this expansion.
Rose said, "Our plan is to manage the business through the
economic downturn by tightly controlling costs, capital
expenditure, cash flow and stock.
"We believe we are well positioned to compete by improving our
operational delivery and continuing to focus on quality, value and
choice."