John Lewis online sales make up for store slide

The employee-owned business grew its overall sales by 3.7 per cent year-on-year in the week to 16 July, down from the previous week's 4.7 per cent but above the 2.4 per cent average over the past 24 weeks.

The vast majority of the branches posted a fall in revenue - with Aberdeen down 7 per cent, Glasgow 4.9 per cent lower and Edinburgh falling 3.4 per cent - as the chain's clearance sale began to wind down.

But the overall figure was helped by a 31.3 per cent surge in online orders, boosted by international sales and the firm's click-and-collect service, which allows customers to order online and then pick up items from high street stores.

Paula Nickolds buying director for John Lewis's home range, said: "The fashion department saw a good overall performance, up 4 per cent, but trade was affected by the unpredictable weather, highlighted by Barbour jackets selling 100 per cent more compared to last year.

"Promotional activity within the beauty department helped deliver an impressive 12 per cent rise and customers continued to respond well to offers such as Molton Brown gift sets."

The sales news came as John Lewis confirmed plans to open ten "mini" department stores, creating about 3,000 jobs.

The outlets will have between 65,000sq ft and 100,000sq ft of floor space, making them smaller than the chain's standard 132,000-sq ft department stores but bigger than its 40,000-sq ft "At Home" format shops. The first of the new-format stores will open next year in Exeter.

The company said it was on course to open a traditional department store at Stratford, in east London, later this year, along with "At Home" shops in Chester and Tamworth.

John Lewis also owns the Waitrose chain of 258 supermarkets. The up-market grocer reported a 9.8 per cent rise in sales, driven by demand for cake mixes as the English school holidays began.