AFP Business News

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LONDON (AFP) - Marks and Spencer will for the first time sell grocery and household products featuring top brand names across all of its British stores alongside its own branded goods, it said on Wednesday.

Together with news of flat first-half profits, Marks said it would break with tradition and start selling products such as Coca-Cola fizzy drinks, Kelloggs cereals and Persil washing powder in a bid to improve sales.

"Marks & Spencer announces today that it is to sell a selected range of around 400 branded grocery and household products in all of its UK stores," the company said in a statement.

The move follows trials in certain stores across England.

Marks chairman Stuart Rose said the change would make it "much more convenient" for customers looking to purchase groceries in just one shop.

The announcement comes as M&S said net profits rose just half-a-percent to 224.3 million pounds (251 million euros, 369 million dollars) during the first six months of its financial year.

Marks and Spencer -- a barometer of consumer sentiment in recession-hit Britain -- said its profit after tax figure for the six months to the end of September compared with a net gain of 223.2 million pounds a year earlier.

"We are pleased with our first half performance," Rose said in a statement accompanying the earnings.

"Our strong customer offer, together with tight management of costs and margin, has allowed us to report a profit slightly ahead of last year, despite a challenging economic environment.

"We increased our share of the clothing market over the period, and our performance in food has also improved."

Rose added that Marks had made "a good start to the third quarter," while the group was "cautious about the outlook for Christmas and the year ahead."

Pre-tax profits dipped slightly to 306.7 million pounds in the first half while group revenue rose 2.8 percent to 4.3 billion pounds.

In afternoon trade, the share price of Marks was showing a rise of 5.57 percent to 360 pence on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was up 0.82 percent to 5,078.47 points.

Earlier this year, Marks and Spencer said it was cutting up to 1,230 jobs and closing 27 stores in Britain and abroad.