// John Lewis weekly sales down 4.1%
// Waitrose sales up 18.8% year-on-year
John Lewis Partnership has seen its sales slide in the last week despite a strong rise at grocery stablemate Waitrose.
Sales at John Lewis were down 4.1 per cent year on year in the week to December 28, bringing the decline over the 48 weeks of the retailer’s financial year so far to 1.6 per cent compared with the previous year.
Waitrose’s weekly sales rose 18.8 per cent year on year, but declined by a mere 0.8 per cent on a 48-week basis.
READ MORE: John Lewis Partnership fails to smash sales in week before Christmas
“Despite a busy few days in the run-up to Christmas, a slower than usual start to clearance promotions saw a dip in sales for the week,” John Lewis said.
Meanwhile, John Lewis’ fashion sales increased by 5.8 per cent in the week thanks to last-minute Christmas shopping.
However, sales in homeware dropped by 5.3 per cent, while electricals and home technology was down 14.5 per cent “due to slower demand for clearance promotions”.
Waitrose said the decline was “heavily distorted by the fall of Christmas, particularly the inclusion of December 22, one of our peak trading days, which fell in the previous week in 2018”.
John Lewis Partnership will publish an update on Christmas trading on January 9.
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