John Lewis unveils dip in sales

Department store group John Lewis has announced a dip in sales for last week, with clothing taking the hardest hit as the poor weather affected trading.

The employee-owned retailer also said its figures for the week to 16 March suffered in comparison with the same period last year, which benefited from Mother’s Day and the launch of an updated Apple iPad.

Overall, sales across the chain were down 0.3 per cent. Among its three Scottish stores, Glasgow was the only branch to enjoy an increase in takings, up 3.1 per cent on a year ago, while Edinburgh was down 2.4 per cent and Aberdeen 2 per cent lower.