John Lewis recorded a sales surge for the week ending 25 July after furniture performed well and its clearance Sale ended well.

John Lewis weekly sales to July 25

  • Furniture sales were particularly strong for John Lewis
  • John Lewis says it is in a good position as it moves into second half
  • Waitrose sales edge up despite poor weather

Sales jumped 10.2% year on year to £76.5m as the department store recorded sales increases across all of its categories.

Fashion increased by 9.3% year on year after being boosted by menswear and childrenswear. Men’s branded casualwear was the stand out performer with a 27.7% increase.

Big-ticket items are continuing to perform well as furniture sales rose 17.4%. Fitted furniture increased 46.5%, while living and dining increased 26.6%.

John Lewis operations director Dino Rocos said: “As we move towards the end of the half, we are in a good position to offer our customers a taste of things to come with a strong representation of new season stock arriving online and in our branches.

“The changeable weather is on our side as warmer snaps see increased demand for high summer lines and short showers encourage our customers to begin to think about Back to School and the all-important second half of the year.”

Waitrose sales

Meanwhile, sister retailer Waitrose recorded a slight increase in sales despite the disappointing weather compared with the same week last year, which was one of the two hottest in 2014.

The grocer’s sales, excluding petrol, increased 0.6% year on year to £122.4m. The poor weather meant customers opted for food usually associated with the winter months.

Soup sales increased 28% compared with the same week last year, while hot desserts such as bread and butter pudding and crumbles recorded a 22% increase in demand.

Meanwhile, Waitrose cafes’ orders of food and drink rose 32% year on year as customers sheltered from the rain.