John Lewis sales feel chill but Waitrose warms

THE big freeze hit sales at John Lewis department stores last week, as revenue fell 1.4 per cent in the week to 9 January against the same time last year.

Of its Scottish stores, only Edinburgh saw a rise in sales, up 1.4 per cent. It is thought that the end of tramworks disruption around the St James Shopping Centre contributed to the increase.

The Glasgow store's sales fell 1.3 per cent, while Aberdeen, which was hit even worse by heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures, saw sales plummet 17.2 per cent.

The employee-owned firm, viewed as a barometer of retail spending, said sales at its 28 department stores and one John Lewis at home store totalled 53.8 million in the week to 9 January, down from 54.6m.

Andrew Murphy, director of operational development at John Lewis, said: "Footfall was significantly depressed in many shops through the middle part of the week and a substantial number of trading hours were sacrificed to close some branches early."

John Lewis, which earlier this month posted a record Christmas performance, said the overall sales fall reflected a 5.6 per cent drop in sales of electrical and home technology products and a 1.2 per cent decline in homewares.

John Lewis also owns the 222-store Waitrose supermarket chain, including three outlets in Scotland. Waitrose sales jumped 21.8 per cent to 92.5 million over the week.

Tony Solomons, retail director for Waitrose, said: "As the big chill gripped Britain, consumers' desire for warming comfort food helped drive a strong sales uplift."

With consumers fearing the weather might tighten its grip there was also evidence of panic buying, with sales of corned beef and spam up 70 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The latest sales data provide early evidence as to how the heavy snow has impacted on the retail sector and on the economy in general.

He said the figures were obviously bad news for a UK economy struggling too hard to get out of recession and develop decent recovery. However, he added that overall damage to the economy should be limited by the fact that consumers tend to delay most sales rather than cancel them altogether.