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John Lewis sales up after thaw
JOHN Lewis’s sales shot up last week as the big thaw saw customers flooding back.
The department store chain reported an 11.1 per cent rise in turnover – with more than half its outlets up on last year’s equivalent sales.
Fashion sales were up 19 per cent with cold weather clothing.
Oxford Street grew sales by 8.8 per cent and Peter Jones in Sloane Square was up by 15.4 per cent.
The previous week’s figures showed a 1.4 per cent drop in sales as snow and ice kept customers away in what is normally its peak clearance week.
John Lewis director Andrew Murphy said: “Once the temperature began to rise so too did our trade, with pent-up customer demand building from midweek and culminating in a great day’s trade on Saturday.”