John Lewis continues to out-perform the rest of the high street

By PETER RANSCOMBE
Published on 07/09/2012 09:27

Department store chain John Lewis continued to out-perform the rest of the high street after posting a 15.3 per cent year-on-year rise in sales.

The employee-owned company said the rise in turnover was due to strong demand for back-to-school clothing in England and Wales.

John Lewis also said parents were buying their children iPads and other tablet computers for their return to the classroom.

North of the Border, Aberdeen’s branch posted a 3.4 per cent rise in sales, while Glasgow was up 2 per cent and Edinburgh edged 0.4 per cent higher.

Freddie George, the respected retail analyst at Seymour Pierce, said: “It was very strong week for the department stores but growth at Waitrose moderated in the week that included the August bank holiday.”

IHS Global Insight chief UK economist Howard Archer added: “The latest John Lewis figures contrast markedly with the soft British Retail Consortium data for August released earlier this week. The BRC reported that total retail sales rose by a modest 1.6 per cent year-on-year in August.”