// John Lewis Partnership weekly sales down 1.9%
// Waitrose sales slip 0.9%
// John Lewis sales drop 3.5%
John Lewis Partnership’s sales have improved after last week’s performance, although it is still in negative territory when compared to last year’s figures.
For the week ending June, the partnership’s overall weekly sales dipped 1.9 per cent to £210.67 million compared to the same time year, when it came in at £214.82 million.
Despite the decline, this week’s figures are an improvement on the 4.1 per cent year-on-year decline recorded last week.
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For the company’s financial year-to-date, sales slipped 0.9 per cent compared to the first 18 weeks of last year.
Total sales at Waitrose on its own were down 0.9 per cent compared to the same week last year, whereas John Lewis fared worse with a decline of 3.5 per cent in weekly sales.
At the partnership’s grocery division, sales of ambient products were down 1.2 per cent, fresh food and chilled products down by a marginal 0.2 per cent, while home and general merchandise sales dropped 5.4 per cent for the week.
Waitrose said sales of bakery were strong, led by products in the Scrumptious Summer range including cakes, up eight per cent and pre-packed rolls up five per cent.
The warm weather at the weekend also saw sales of ready to drink cocktails and canned wine rise by 12 per cent, with beer and sparkling wines also proving popular, boosted by a Fizz Showcase.
Over at stablemate John Lewis, the combination of the impact of warm weather and year-on-year comparisons of price matching competitor activity contributed to its lack of growth.
Fashion sales overall were down 0.6 per cent, but menswear was up 14 per cent while the department store’s own-brand womenswear was up 3.1 per cent.
Home sales were down 1.4 per cent year-on-year, and electrical and home technology sales were down 8.5 per cent thanks to last year’s World Cup sales.
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