// John Lewis Partnership’s overall weekly sales down 4.5%
// Waitrose weekly sales drop 4.3%
// John Lewis weekly sales 4.8%
John Lewis Partnership’s weekly sales have taken a hit as revenues at both Waitrose and John Lewis fascias tumbled due to the later-than-usual timing of half-term.
For the week ending February 23, sales at the retail group slid by 4.5 per cent year-on-year, from £204.36 million down to £195.14 million.
READ MORE:
For John Lewis Partnership’s year-to-date, sales also slipped by by 1.1 per cent per cent year-on-year.
John Lewis was yet again the weakest link with a weekly sales decline of 4.8 per cent year-on-year – worse than the 3.4 per cent weekly sales decline it booked last week.
The 1.1 per cent growth in the department store’s fashion sales failed to offset another week of declines in the home and electronics departments, which dropped 9.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively.
John Lewis said the warmer-than-usual weather last week combined with the launch of six new independent labels helped boost its fashion sales, but discounting and half-term offers at competitors impacted on home and electronics sales – although it did record the highest February sales of outdoor furniture.
Meanwhile, Waitrose’s weekly sales decline of 4.3 per cent year-on-year is a dramatic drop compared to the 0.9 per cent growth it recorded last week, as it experienced decline across its ambient food, fresh good and general merchandise departments.
The upmarket grocer said comparisons were affected by shoppers stocking up last year for the anticipated Beast from the East snow storm, and also impacted by the later fall of the half term holidays this year for many areas of the country.
However, the warmer weather led to sales growth in food such as olives, antipasti and “food to go” salads and sushi.
