John Lewis finishes on a "flourish"
22 January 2010 09:52
With two weeks left of its financial year, department store chain John Lewis has said that it is finishing on a "flourish", with sales influenced by rising temperatures. In the week to January 16th, John Lewis saw sales up 11.1% on last year, with pent-up customer demand building from midweek and culminating in a "great day's trade" on Saturday.
Most prominent among the merchandise assortments was Fashion, where almost every category posted a double-digit increase, driving the directorate to finish 19% up on last year. Here, as in other areas, cold weather products continued to sell well with women's outerwear surging 44% ahead of last year and, in Home, bed linen was 22% up.
New Year resolutions saw increases in sports clothing and footwear with Nike and Adidas up 21 and 23% respectively.
Meanwhile, at sister company Waitrose, the so-called "Big Freeze" helped drive sales, which were up 16.6% on last year.
With warnings of further snow, sales of everything frozen were significantly up on last year, as shoppers rediscovered the potential of the freezer and stocked up on goods which can be stored for longer than their fresh equivalents.
In a statement, Ailsa Emerson, personnel director at Waitrose, said: "In response to this demand, next week will see our biggest ever launch of frozen products. Waitrose Frozen is our new range, which has been developed by our Executive Chef, Neil Nugent, and focuses on essential ingredients, last-minute meal solutions and delicious accompaniments.
"All the products can be cooked straight from frozen and, as with all our products, all the fish is sustainable, the chicken is British, and the pork is from UK outdoor-bred pigs. Highlights of the range include slow-cook dishes using Forgotten Cuts, stock and pesto in pop-out trays and frozen risotto and croissants".
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