John Lewis managing director Andy Street talks to Retail Week about the snowman ad, tax evasion and prospects for 2013.

How was John Lewis able to notch up such a stellar Christmas performance?

We were a brand that was really confident, and that was reflected in all sorts of ways. We had an ad that was unique and a risk and it paid off. It was very different to what we did last year and what everyone else did.

We also backed the must-have products like never before and it paid off handsomely. And we prepared for a bumper online Christmas, and continued click-and-collect right up until Christmas Eve. It was better than expected. But Christmas came really late, in the last nine days.

Electricals and home technology sales were 30.9% up over Christmas. Did Comet’s collapse help boost sales?

It wasn’t about taking Comet’s sales. We were very much in the consumer’s psyche. They were thinking ‘who can I trust?’  We achieved remarkable sales of coffee machines and vacuums.

You said before Christmas that the tax evasion scandal, involving companies including Amazon, helped boost John Lewis sales. Do you still stand by that?

I can’t prove it but the fact John Lewis is seen as the good guy helps us be seen as a business you’d want to do business with.

What were the stand out products over Christmas?

That’s easy. The stand out product was the tablet computer. We got in big quantities and it paid off. The surprise was how robust our traditional categories were, such as beauty, toys and haberdashery. Where we had really clever buying, we created a market where there wasn’t one before.

How do you see 2013 playing out?

The critical thing is we have momentum but we do not expect to sustain the sales levels we saw in the run up to Christmas. We expect to finish this [calendar] year mid to high single digits up.

How do you read the current consumer mindset?

Resilient. They’re very careful but where they see quality they’re prepared to spend.

What about the economy?

I see that improving a little. It will be positive this year. Inflation is coming down while pay is rising almost in line with inflation now.

When are you relaunching the John Lewis website?

We’re trialing the new website at the moment, and that’s gone smoothly. We’re planning a relaunch for February. It’s a lot simpler process for the checkout. The big thing is the personalised experience, [the site will know] your previous journey.