John Lewis sales up 16.2% last week
Sales at John Lewis surged by 16.2% year-on-year last week as preparations for the return to school drove footfall into branches and helped childrenswear to have a record week with sales up 20.3%.
Fashion sales climbed by 17.8% boosted by buoyant trade in accessories, particularly gloves and scarves. Womenswear sales rose by 23.2%.
Home sales saw a 17.1% increase which was driven by a 24% uplift in furniture. Sales of beds and bedroom furniture rose by 27.3% while filled bedding sales surged by 38.6% as customers bought warmer duvets for the autumn.
Electricals and home technology sales grew by 15.4%, with strong sales from both small electrical, up 41.5%, and audio and gaming, up 38.3%. Tablet and computing sales increased by 10.2%, buoyed by the launch of the Microsoft Surface.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Looking at online, sales climbed by 27.7% with fashion performing particularly well, up 40%. This was driven by the launch of new season products and customers moving towards cooler weather categories such as knitwear and outerwear.
In the stores, Ipswich achieved the highest percentage increase on last year at 40.7%, followed by Poole at 37.8% and High Wycombe at 35.1%.
Dino Rocos, operations director at John Lewis, said: “As summer begins to fade, our focus turns towards warmer products and Christmas moves one step closer.”
