Sale drives John Lewis growth

DEPARTMENT store bellwether John Lewis posted another double-digit increase in sales on Friday, in the third week of its clearance period.

The employee-owned retailer said sales increased 15.3 per cent year-on-year to £71.6 million in the week to 7 July.

Poor weather boosted footfall, while electricals and home technology was the top performing department, with sales up 34 per cent on a year earlier.

All three Scottish department stores booked solid gains. Aberdeen jumped 11 per cent, Edinburgh rose 8.9 per cent and Glasgow was up by 14.5 per cent.

John Lewis has set the pace in the sector this summer as the deluge of rain has driven footfall from the high street to the covered shopping centres where most of its stores are located.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, the forecasting group, said: “Robust year-on-year growth in John Lewis sales suggests that still pressurized consumers are keen to take advantage of the clearance sales to purchase big ticket items or treat themselves to products that they might otherwise be reluctant to buy.

“Sales were also lifted by bad weather lifting footfall and by Olympic-related merchandise.”