More sad store news from across the pond. British retailer Marks & Spencer, the chain Patricia Field designed a capsule collection for late last year, is laying off 1,230 workers and closing 27 stores. Marks & Spencer is the largest clothing retailer in Britain. Though it sold more than 50 million pounds of goods on December 23, it suffered its worst quarterly drop in a decade, of 7.1 percent, afterward. Chairman Stuart Rose says the cuts will reduce costs by 200 million pounds. He added, "We're just finding that customers individually didn't have as much to spend." Analysts have heralded the chain for taking action in the downturn and the company's stock is up 5 percent. We're all in this together.

UK retailer Marks & Spencer to cut 1,230 jobs [AP]