// John Lewis Partnership has just published its last ever weekly trading update as the business undergoes a restructure
// Partnership will move to a new financial reporting structure that won’t split the results of John Lewis & Waitrose
// For the week ending January 25, the last week of the financial year, John Lewis Partnership sales dropped 1.9%
John Lewis Partnership posted its last ever weekly trading update as the company ends its financial year with a significant step forward in restructuring its business operations.
As part of its Future Partnership strategy – first announced in October – the parent company of Waitrose and John Lewis now operates as one business and will move to a new financial reporting structure whereby the sales or operating profit will no longer be split between its two retail fascias.
Instead, financial reporting will focus on general merchandise, grocery and services.
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- John Lewis Partnership weekly sales tumble 2.9%
- John Lewis boss Paula Nickolds exits as sales drop
- John Lewis Partnership outlines restructure & job cuts
The partnership said this new structure will be reflected in its half-year results from September.
Nonetheless, for the week ending January 25 – John Lewis Partnership’s last week of the financial year – overall sales were down by 1.9 per cent year-on-year, from £198.53 million down to £194.67 million.
Looking at the full 52 week-period, John Lewis Partnership said overall sales slipped 0.6 per cent.
For John Lewis on its own, total sales for the week were down 2.5 per cent as the Clearance campaign came to an end.
The end of Clearance coupled with competitor promotions saw home sales dive by 9.3, while fashion sales were up by a marginal 0.4 per cent and electrical and home technology sales were up 1.1 per cent.
At stablemate Waitrose, total sales excluding fuel were down 1.6 per cent compared to the same week last year.
Many shoppers were still taking part in Veganuary and Dry January, with sales of vegan and vegetarian food, and low and no-alcohol drinks, proving particularly popular for the grocer.
Customers were also sprucing up their homes and gardens with horticulture sales up 17 per cent and cut flowers up three per cent.
However, overall the grocer said ambient sales decreased 1.4 per cent, chilled and fresh food sales declined 1.7 per cent, and home and general merchandise sales dropped 5.3 per cent.
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