Department store John Lewis saw sales growth return last week thanks to a strong performance across bricks & mortar stores and online as total sales rose 13.5 per cent, it has been announced today.
Although heavy snow impacted sales patterns in the week to March 23rd 2013, with fashion struggling as demand for winter warmers continued, the electricals directorate drove growth with sales rising 22 per cent on the same period last year.
Unseasonably cold weather and the imminent arrival of Easter helped boost sales of homewares as home sales jumped 13 per cent on last year thanks to a solid result across home accessories and gifts, an “all the more creditable” result given last year‘s Diamond Jubilee and Olympic product sales, the retailer noted.
Dino Rocos, Operations Director at John Lewis, emphasised the importance of the holiday, commenting: “We are now facing into Easter and school holidays with an incredibly strong marketing campaign, including the Easter Weekend Event and the Shop Spring daily offers.
“Availability remains strong across the assortment leaving us well placed to support our customers and maximise trade during this important trading period… and at some point we may even see some sun!”
Waitrose also reported a rise in total sales ahead of Easter, up 14.5 per cent on the same week last year as seasonal confectionery proved popular with shoppers.
Easter egg sales surged 25 per cent on last year while its new Woodland Friend characters range proved “a real hit” and hot cross bun sales increased 50 per cent.
Online grocery sales leapt 61.3 per cent on last year as the cold kept customers indoors and the chain continued to benefit from its relaunched website.
Last week, the grocer announced that it had poached online supermarket Ocado‘s senior e-commerce executive Tony Rivenell as its new Head of Omnichannel Delivery as it works to “deliver a truly omnichannel shopping experience for Watrose customers”.
