John Lewis sales boosted by back to school rush
Sales at John Lewis for the week ending 27 August were up 1.4% on the same week last year as the retailer benefited from the rush to buy back to school items before the start of the new school year.
“A last dash for the outdoors over the bank holiday weekend, and a renewed sense of urgency around Back to School, could be felt throughout our business as we traded into the weekend,” said the department store chain.
Online sales were up 34% on last year driven by sales of back to school merchandise such as childrenswear which made an online increase of 185% on last year.
Stores delivered a more variable performance as several of the retailer’s biggest stores were undergoing major refurbishments in prepartion for the new season. Cardiff led with a 1.3% increase on last year followed by Leicester and Glasgow.
Sales in the Electrical and Home Technology category were up 7.8% for the week while Fashion achieved a smaller incresae of 1.6%. Home sales were down by 3.3%.
Susanne Given, buying director for Fashion and Beauty, said: “Autumn is now finally on its way, and we are excited about our new season’s products and about-to-be-launched advertising campaigns – all of which will hopefully keep our customers inspired.”
