John Lewis ends Sale on a high

For the week to July 25, John Lewis said all bar six department stores were up on last year and John Lewis Direct was up 29 per cent.

The best performing store was Newcastle, up 11 per cent, followed by Southampton, up 10 per cent, then Glasgow at up 9 per cent.

Fashion led the sales, up 12.5 per cent across both mens and womenswear.

Homewares sales built on the strong sales of the previous week. Indoor furniture was up 9 per cent, with upholstery and bedroom both hitting double digits, and home office the strongest at up 18 per cent. Its cookshop was up 14 per cent.

Those department stores that were down were Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Nottingham, Watford, Kingston and Edinburgh.

Grocer Waitrose also reported a strong week with sales up 9.9 per cent despite the changeable weather and tough comparisons.

Products benefitting from unseasonal conditions included fresh soups, up 56 per cent year on year, hot pies were up 34 per cent, and Yorkshire puddings and gravy up 48 per cent.

Waitrose launched 38 new lines in its Essential Waitrose range last week. This will take the number of lines to 1,018. The grocer said the new range continued to generate strong growth, with sales up 11 per cent on last year.

Overall, the John Lewis Partnership was up 8.6 per cent for the week.