John Lewis reports tough week

UK department store chain John Lewis today said consumers continued to rein in spending after sales tumbled 7.6% in the week to last Saturday.

The drop on a year earlier to £48.2m (€60m) featured a sales decline of 9.6% in electricals and home technology and a 13.5% fall for the group’s Home department. Fashion held up well with an improvement of 0.9%.