John Lewis sales up 18.1% as bank holidays and rain drive footfall
John Lewis said trading benefited from both the Jubilee and the wet weather last week as it reported an 18.1% increase in sales.
Sales were also boosted by the different fall of half term which meant that not only were there two bank holidays, but that many families had the rest of the week off. The retailer said the combination of bank holidays and rain was a good footfall driver for many its shops with Swindon recording a 50.9% increase, followed by Poole, up 38.9%, and Croydon up 37.7 %.
The Jubilee effect was not so strong for the central London branches as customers attended Jubilee celebrations but online sales continued to grow strongly with johnlewis.com achieving an increase of 47.2% on the same week last year.
Of the directorates, Electricals and Home Technology achieved an increase of 46.6% on last year driven by sales of iPads, communication technology items and TVs. In addition, sales of tumble dryers increased by 49% in the week.
Never Miss a Retail Update!The Home directorate recorded a rise of 13.6% with the impetus coming from furniture and outdoor living while sales of home accessories and gift assortments rose 27.5%.
It was a much tougher week for the Fashion directorate where sales edged up by 3.9%.
Maggie Porteous, head of selling operations, new format, John Lewis said: “With the Jubilee now behind us, our thoughts are turning to the Summer of Sport and in particular Euro 2012 and London 2012. These events, coupled with our own Clearance, which starts next week, mean that we should be able to keep up great momentum on the sales front.”
