MARKS and Spencer reported its 12th straight quarterly fall in its clothing, footwear and homeware division on Tuesday, hurt by the transition to a new website.

Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, which also sells food, said sales at its general merchandise division at stores open for more than a year fell 1.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to June 28, its financial first quarter.

That compares with analysts’ forecasts in a range of between 1 per cent and 2 per cent down and a decline of 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of M&S’s 2013/14 financial year.

“We have seen a continued improvement in clothing, although, as anticipated, the settling in of the new M&S.com site has had an impact on sales,” chief executive Marc Bolland said.

It had been hoped the new website would transform the 130-year-old business but instead it has been beset by obstacles since its launch in February. All six million customers registered on the old site were forced to re-register and there have been reports of problems with site navigation.

Laura Wade-Gery, who was head of M&S’s online business, was elevated just one week ago to oversee M&S’s UK stores and some are tipping her to, one day, take over as the company’s chief executive.

Mr Bolland said: “We have seen a continued improvement in clothing, although as anticipated the settling in of the new M&S.com site has had an impact on sales.

“We are pleased that the womenswear business was in growth, driven by full price sales, in line with our increased focus on margin.

“Our food business had another great quarter, continuing to outperform the market, through our focus on differentiation through quality and innovation.”