John Lewis encouraged by trading

John Lewis said sales of televisions and computers rose sharply last week after the poor weather boosted interest in indoor products.

The UK department store chain reported a 2% sales lift to £48.5m (€60.5m) for the week to last Saturday, with the figure 6% stronger when compared with the equivalent post-Easter trading week last year.

John Lewis described the performance as “very encouraging”, particularly given the distractions of various sporting events, such as FA Cup football and the Grand National.

Andy Banks, head of supply chain, said: “The desire to stay indoors has driven outstanding sales of TVs, up 14%, and computers, up 30%. In both areas the internet continues to be the growth channel with johnlewis.com sales of TVs up over 200% on last year.”

As well as a 52% rise in overall sales for the internet arm, John Lewis said its stores at London’s Oxford Street and Aberdeen performed well.

The company’s fashion department appeared to buck the gloomy trends reported elsewhere in the sector, with sales coming in well ahead of last year.

But trading figures for the supermarket part of the John Lewis Partnership were less impressive, with Waitrose seeing a 10.7% drop to £75.4m (€94m).

John Lewis said it had been a “difficult week”, with the later school holidays impacting on the year-on-year performance of many of its branches.

However, the group warned that its 26 John Lewis stores and 187 Waitrose food shops faced “very challenging” trading for the rest of this year and possibly into next year as the economic downturn took its toll.