Scots stores lag as John Lewis sales edge higher

John Lewis today unveiled a rise in weekly sales but said all three of its Scottish stores suffered lower takings.

Sales at John Lewis' Edinburgh store fell 7% last week

The employee-owned department store chain’s Aberdeen branch was the worst performer north of the Border, with sales in the week to 14 November tumbling 14.9 per cent compared with a year earlier.

In Glasgow, takings were down 7.1 per cent year-on-year, while the retailer’s Edinburgh branch witnessed a 7 per cent decline.

Overall sales at the firm were up 1.5 per cent, having fallen by 0.4 per cent the previous week, despite the launch of its high-profile Christmas advertising campaign.

At the upmarket grocer Waitrose, also owned by the John Lewis Partnership, sales excluding petrol grew 4.7 per cent compared with a year ago.