John Lewis sales up 3.3% last week
John Lewis saw its sales growth slow to 3.3% year-on-year last week as the warm weather encouraged many shoppers to spend time outdoors over the bank holiday weekend.
The star performer was once again the Electricals and Home Technology directorate where sales rose by 15.3% on the same week last year. Trade was boosted by the launch of the John Lewis digital radio which helped Audio & Imaging to a gain of 27.6%. Tablets also performed well as a result of a promotional three-year guarantee on iPads.
In the Home directorate trade was tougher with sales falling 3.8%, although sales in furniture were buoyant helped by the launch ‘Any Shape, Any Fabric’ offering.
Fashion sales edged down 0.9%, despite the return to school driving a 9.8% increase in schoolwear. Nursery also put in a solid performance as new assortments boosted sales.
Never Miss a Retail Update!In the branches, the stand-out performances came from Swindon, where sales were up 12.6%, and Milton Keynes with an increase of 7.9%.
Online sales at johnlewis.com climbed by 19.9%, helped by an especially good Click & Collect performance.
Looking ahead, John Lewis head of retail implementation and format development Tim Harrison said: “The holidays are over, the schools are all back and we could now do with the next turn of the changing seasons. The new products in our shops are getting a great reception from customers and we have it superbly presented in both shops and online, allowing us to make the most of the new season.”
