// John Lewis Partnership weekly sales decline 2.4%
// Waitrose sales down 2.4%
// John Lewis sales drop 2.4%
John Lewis Partnership’s weekly sales have taken a hit thanks to weather conditions impacting on customer footfall and purchases.
For the week ending June 22, the partnership’s overall weekly sales declined 2.4 per cent to £221.66 million compared to the same time year, when it came in at £227.07 million.
For the company’s financial year-to-date, sales slipped 0.9 per cent compared to the first 21 weeks of last year.
Total sales at Waitrose and John Lewis on their own were both down 2.4 per cent respectively compared to the same week last year.
At the partnership’s grocery fascia, sales of ambient products were down 2.7 per cent, fresh food and chilled products down by 1.6 per cent, while home and general merchandise sales plummeted 6.8 per cent for the week.
Waitrose said compared to the same week last year, there was much warmer weather.
It said customers made the most of the cooler weather this year with increased purchases of hot prepared ready meals, and fish counters continued to drive strong sales.
There was also a marked increase in sales of outdoor plants as customers looked ahead for the warmer summer days.
Over at stablemate John Lewis, the first week of Clearance sales started well but this slowed at the weekend due to the warmer weather.
Fashion sales were down 0.1 per cent, although womenswear sales were up 4.5 per cent and menswear sales were up 2.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Home sales were down 3.9 per cent despite a 13 per cent uptick in outdoor furniture ahead of the expected heatwave this week.
Finally, John Lewis’ electrical and home technology department recorded a sales decline of 4.4 per cent.
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