VAT hike blamed for John Lewis slide

Department store operator John Lewis suffered a decline in sales last week, adding to evidence that an increase in VAT has further weakened already fragile UK consumer spending.

The employee-owned retailer, which also runs Waitrose, said that department store sales fell 2.2 per cent to 50.1 million in the week to 22 January.

Sales in the previous two weeks had increased 4.1 per cent and 38.7 per cent respectively. John Lewis has long outperformed the broader retail sector.