John Lewis weekly sales up 15%
John Lewis enjoyed a 15% rise in its weekly sales last week as customers updated their summer wardrobes during the warm weather at the start of the week.
Fashion sales were 20.1% higher than the same week last year with strong growth across childrenswear, menswear and womenswear. The retailer said the key drivers were the weather and price-matching activity, which boosted sales of summer dresses, sandals, sunglasses, and T-shirts. Accessories and beauty products also sold well with sales rising by 24.8%.
The electricals and home technology directorate delivered growth of 18.8% driven by a 60.6% increase in sales of communication technology items. The Home directorate saw sales rise by 9.3% on the same week last year as furniture sales increased by 121%.
Online sales were up 54% with click & collect orders surging 185% as 100 new Waitrose branches were brought online. The retailer said 43% of all click & collect orders were picked up from a Waitrose store and that the service accounted for just over a third of all online orders.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Among the full-line department stores Knight & Lee, Peter Jones and Cheadle headed the weekly growth table with increases of 14.3%, 11.8% and 11% respectively.
Simon Williams, head of corporate sales at John Lewis said: “Looking forward, despite the bank holiday weather disappointing those who had looked forward to a day or two in the garden, this has meant a stronger start to this week than might otherwise have been expected and as such there is every reason to be optimistic.”
