Waitrose sales up on final of Masterchef and the 'Delia effect'

WAITROSE, the up-market grocery chain owned by retail partnership John Lewis, yesterday revealed it had received a boost from the final of BBC1's Masterchef programme, with sales of the accompanying book pushing total cookbook sales up by 41 per cent.

The "Delia effect" also continued in the week to 10 April, following a promotion involving recipes by cook Delia Smith and chef Heston Blumenthal.

Their recipes boosted sales of sausages, grapes and cider.

The good weather also led to increased sales of barbecue foods, including steak and fresh red sea prawns for "surf and turf" dishes and a 107 per cent jump in salads.

Overall, Waitrose suffered a 16.7 per cent drop in sales due to Easter falling in a different week from last year.

Meanwhile, the John Lewis department store chain enjoyed a "cracking Easter", with sales rising by 18 per cent year-on-year over the full two-week holiday period.

Total sales in the week to 10 April were up just 0.6 per cent, due to the Easter timing issue, taking the uplift over the past ten weeks to 17 per cent.

But the three Scottish stores failed to share in last week's rise, with Glasgow down 4.3 per cent, Aberdeen 3.6 per cent lower and Edinburgh falling 2.4 per cent.

Women's summer fashions – including garments from White Stuff, Hobbs and Ted Baker – sold well, along with the new Reebok Easytime cross trainers.

Promotions on brands including Denby plates and Lauder and Clarins cosmetics also tempted customers into the stores.

Selling operations director David Barford said the company had "a cracking Easter". He said: "Looking at our performance this week on a like-for-like basis, we achieved a 10 per cent increase on last year and, over the two-week Easter period, we saw a great 18 per cent uplift. All in all, a really good two weeks' trading."

Barford added: "On a straightforward comparison to last year, we were up 0.6 per cent, losing Sunday due to the fall of the calendar, coupled with lovely weather at the tail end of the week plus a number of key sporting events.

"As we come out of Easter and move towards the end of the first quarter our shops are looking great, full of colour, new ranges and lots of inspiration for our customers as we move into spring."