Shares in British food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer PLC plummeted Wednesday after the company reported that home market sales fell 5.3 percent in the first quarter as the domestic economy slows.
Shares fell 21.9 percent to 248.5 pence ($4.97) in early trading, and the company said the head of its food business was stepping down immediately.
The latest evidence that consumers are reining in spending in the face of rising food and energy prices sent ripples through the industry. Shares in another leading supermarket company, Tesco, fell 4 percent, while No. 3 Sainsbury fell 6 percent.
Shares in general merchandiser, Next fell 8 percent, and rival Debenhams dropped 7 percent.
"In this environment, any negative news is likely to be seized upon," said Richard Hunter, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, who noted that the company's share price has fallen 59 percent in a year. M&S said group sales for the 13 weeks ending June 28 were up 1.3 percent, and international sales gained 24.5 percent.
But in Britain, general merchandise sales slumped 6.2 percent on a like-for-like basis and food sales fell 4.5 percent.
The company said Steven Esom, who had been director of food, resigned from the board and left the company. He was replaced by John Dixon, currently director of the Home and M&S Direct businesses.
"We expect market conditions to continue to remain difficult and we are managing our business accordingly," said chairman Stuart Rose.
"As we said in May, tight stock control and management of costs are a priority. We continue to expect gains in bought-in margin, although the outrun on gross margin is difficult to predict and will depend on market conditions and our trading stance."