British retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) is close to having both its food and general merchandise divisions “firing on all cylinders” and expects a better Christmas after poor clothing sales hit last holiday season, according to its food business head. While the 130-year-old firm’s general merchandise (GM) division – clothing, footwear and homewares – has posted 12 consecutive quarters of declining sales at stores open over a year, its food business has delivered 19 straight quarters of like-for-like sales growth.