A romantic boost for John Lewis sales figures

AN EXTRA day’s trading ahead of Valentine’s Day and the earlier fall of the English school holidays helped department store chain John Lewis to post a 13 per cent year-on-year rise in sales.

Jewellery sales were up 22 per cent, while the lingerie department posted double-digit growth, according to figures released yesterday covering the week to 18 February.

Two of the Scottish stores failed to join in the rise in sales, with Edinburgh down 6.1 per cent and Aberdeen 2.4 per cent lower. Glasgow managed to post a rise of 1.1 per cent though.

Freddie George, a retail analyst at Seymour Pierce, said: “John Lewis sales were helped by the coldish weather, the fall of Valentines on the Tuesday and the timing of the school half terms – in England they were a week earlier this year.”