Department store John Lewis has reported record sales for the second consecutive week, as sales rose 11.1% year-on-year to £147.8 million last week.
Sales for the week ending Saturday December 15th 2012 beat the previous week‘s record of £142 million and online sales also surged to a new high of £43.1million for the week.
Although sales are high across all areas, the retailer saw especially high sales of gifts for women including handbags, jewellery, lingerie and beauty products, with Clarins and Gucci gift sets in particular flying off the shelves.
Formal party outfits are selling fast as women opt for long, lace dresses and men for three-piece suits in the run-up to Christmas, and the children are not being left out with party dresses for toddlers also proving popular.
Casual clothing is also selling well, particularly chunky knits in seasonal red and Christmas jumpers, sales of which have doubled in the past week.
The Nook e-reader and the Kurio tablet are two of the biggest sellers in the tech category, while sales of traditional gifts such as Lego are also high.
The retailer‘s most popular children‘s book is The Snowman‘s Journey, based on this year‘s Christmas ad which was recently voted consumer‘s favourite in a Conlumino poll.
Maggie Porteous, Head of Selling Operations for John Lewis, expressed her pleasure at the results, saying: “With a further nine shopping days before the big event, it is excellent news to have already had two record weeks, both over £140 million for the first time.
“Whilst some of our customers will have finished their gift buying, have their homes decorated and be prepared for guests, many are still set to shop during the final week and weekend, with a number leaving it right up until the last minute on December 24th.”
The department store is also preparing for its Christmas sale, which will start online at 5pm on Christmas Eve and in shops on December 27th.
