John Lewis sales back under pressure

Department store chain John Lewis today said sales dipped 0.8% last week in a sign of a return to tougher conditions on the high street after a festive trading boost.

The group posted £44.5m (€49.5m) in sales, down from £44.9m (€49.9m) a year ago, as John Lewis said shoppers were impacted by the economic gloom in a week that saw the UK declared officially in recession.

Weekly sales at the height of the January clearance period saw robust growth compared to last year across the 27 John Lewis stores and online operation – up 27% year-on-year in the key week to January 3.

But Dan Knowles, a head of selling operations at John Lewis, said sales had since become “harder to come by” after a good start to last week.

Televisions and electricals continued to be popular, notching up a 12.8% increase in sales year-on-year, but the woes in the housing market continued to dampen demand for home products, sending sales in the division plunging by 13.1%.