Department store group John Lewis has laid out ambitious expansion plans, aiming to double in size over the next decade.

The move follows a successful Christmas for the chain, with like-for-like sales rising 6.9% in the five weeks to December 28th. Total sales were £734 million, 7.2% up compared with last year, Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, said: 'This Christmas has seen trade take a different shape to previous years, with an early peak driven by Black Friday and a huge surge in the final 10 days. Many of the big online shopping days and weeks occurred earlier in the period but shops were packed in the last-minute rush on 'manic Monday' (23 December) when we saw our city centre shops record peak days.