UK Fashion Retail: Market share – Weather and Easter add noise

Research evidence excerpt

UK Fashion Retail: Market share – Weather and Easter add noise

Equity Research

26 May 2026

UK Fashion Retail

Market share – Weather and Easter

add noise

Market full-price sales fell -5% in 8w to 26 Apr, in line with European General Retail

prior period to 29 Mar. Data looks weak for M&S, but Easter NEUTRAL

timing and weather comps are adding significant noise, European General Retail

Matthew Clements

Worldpanel underead M&S in 4Q, and mgmt were confident +44 (0)20 7773 6018

on FH&B trends last week. matthew.clements@barclays.com

Barclays, UK

Imogen Doyle

Overall conclusion +44 (0)20 7773 2605

We think the most meaningful way to gauge industry growth is to think in terms of full-price imogen.doyle@barclays.com

sales on a 1YoY basis. On that basis, we can calculate from the data that the industry declined by Barclays, UK

-5.2% for the eight weeks to 26 April, similar to the prior period.

UK Mid & Small Cap Leisure/Consumer

The data looks weak for M&S, but we think calendar and weather add significant noise, and Richard Taylor

utimately M&S has told us it expects FH&B growth on a two-year view (i.e. looking through +44 (0)20 3555 2650

richard.e.taylor@barclays.comcyber) in 1Q and 2Q, product is beeing very well recieved when weather supportive, avaliability

is back in the high 80s, and full-price penetration is back to around 80% with anticipated spring/

summer clearances similar on a two-year view. European Consumer Staples

Warren Ackerman

M&S. Based on Worldpanel data, we estimate that M&S's total sales declined by -6.4% in the +44 (0)20 3134 1903

latest eight-weeks to 26 April (vs. -0.2% in the prior period) and its market share slowed to a loss warren.ackerman@barclays.com

of -14bps (vs +55bps previously). Full-price sales fell -9.9% (vs. -5.7% in the prior period).