John Lewis sales up 7.1% in week ending 10 November
John Lewis saw its sales increase by 7.1% year-on-year in the week ending 10 November as online sales continued to grow at a strong rate in the build-up to Christmas.
Although the previous week’s figures proved hard to beat after being driven by half term and the launch of the iPad Air, trading was still strong helped by a 23.1% increase in online sales.
Fashion sales were also buoyant as sales were boosted by the fall in temperatures. Womenswear sales rose by 6.3% year-on-year, menswear by 6.8% and childrenswear by 16.1%. Cashmere was one of the top sellers across womenswear together with accessories such as leather gloves.
At the end of the week, John Lewis launched its highly-anticipated Christmas advert which was shown during a stand-alone ad break during Saturday’s X Factor and on the retailer’s social media channels.
Never Miss a Retail Update!John Lewis said the public’s reaction to its Christmas advertising was continuing to build. This year’s advert is the most popular UK video on YouTube with 2.6 million hits, taking 24 hours to reach 1 million views against the three days it took last year’s advert to reach the same point.
On Saturday evening when the ad showed on TV for the first time, it generated 35,000 mentions on Twitter in a three hour period. It has also had 133,170 shares on social media according to the Unruly Viral Video chart.
Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, said: “We have seen an overwhelming response from the British public to our TV advert. I don’t think anyone could have anticipated the reaction we’ve had, and while we’re surprised by the interest in the ad, we are pleased that our customers have responded in such a positive way.
“In terms of trade, the cooler weather has resulted in pleasing results for our fashion assortments as people start to buy for the winter season, which we hope to see build through November. In technology, the iPad Air continues to be a bestseller, and together with a strong performance from televisions, the signs are pointing to us having a tech Christmas again this year.”
