John Lewis Partnership’s sales barely crept back into positive territory over the past week, as Waitrose flatlined and fashion helped boost John Lewis’ sales.
For the week ending October 27, the parent company of the upmarket grocery and department store chains saw sales grow just 0.1 per cent year-on-year to £226.90 million.
While this is an improvement on the 0.9 per cent weekly sales drop recorded last week, when looking at the partnership’s the whole 13-week period so far, sales have dipped 0.4 per cent year-on-year.
At Waitrose, total sales excluding fuel dipped 0.1 per cent year-on-year.
The grocery retailer said it was boosted by shoppers looking to decorate their homes for the spooky season, with sales of Halloween flowers up by 44 per cent.
It also found customers were tucking into Christmas treats early, with sales of mince pies up 38 per cent and stollen up 22 per cent, while advent calendars had another strong week with sales up 40 per cent.
Over at stablemate John Lewis, total sales for the week were up 0.3 per cent year-on-year, buoyed by 5.6 per cent surge in fashion sales.
The department store retailer said lower temperatures drove sales of cold weather clothing up 12 per cent, with cashmere and knitwear standing out at up 33 per cent and up 42 per cent respectively.
Womenswear also had a strong week, up 13.4 per cent, with own-brand items performing well, while beauty, wellbeing and leisure saw sales rise by 8.6 per cent.
However, home was down 5.8 per cent although filled bedding saw an uplift of five per cent, driven by the cooler weather.
Decorative bedding also had a good week and cushions were up 25 per cent and with less than two months to go until Christmas, gift food saw sales rise by 14 per cent and Christmas trees were up 18 per cent.
Meanwhile, electrical and home technology was up 0.5 per cent, with sales of smart home products up 53 per cent.
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