Rivals benefit from boost in sales after cyber-attack that closed M&S website

Next, Zara and H&M all benefited from extra sales when their rival Marks & Spencer was forced to halt orders on its website for almost seven weeks after a major cyber-attack that weighed on its own sales.

- Sarah Butler

Clothing sales at M&S slumped by a fifth in the four weeks to 25 May compared with the same period a year before after the website, which usually accounts for a third of M&S's clothing and homeware sales, stopped taking orders. Sales had soared 11.5% in the previous three months, according to the latest figures from analysts at Kantar.