Bolland stresses positives at toiling M&S Marc Bolland, under pressure over the performance of Marks and Spencer, was keen on Tuesday to stress the progress he has made since he outlined his strategic blueprint for the retailer two years ago. As the chief executive of M&S unveiled a 10 per cent fall in pre-tax profit to 289.5m in the six months to September 29, top of his list of achievements was the progress M&S has made in expanding internationally and online. "When I started in the company, the iPad was non-existent," he said. "It has transformed and changed the way people buy, look, shop and feel. That is how important this journey is to become a multi-channel international retailer, because the world is moving towards a multi-channel international environment." Online sales rose by 18 per cent in the first half, outperforming the industry overall by 8 percentage points. "Its a bit like you would see the Chinese building infrastructure. They recently got questioned on their experiences on the Shanghai airport. The answer is 'We are already building a new one.' That is the type of mentality," he said of M&S's online development. But he was adamant that M&S would not launch an online food delivery business, as its basket size, at about 20, was not big enough to support this. This would "never give an economically viable model for delivering food in the UK," said Mr Bolland. Outside of its home market, M&S's performance was held back by Greece and