Last week
John Lewis enjoyed a series of 'spectacular performances' in the week to October 14 as every one of its 26 stores posted better figures than for the same time last year.

Overall sales across the John Lewis Partnership were up 12.5 per cent, with turnover of£120.24 million for the past 11 weeks, compared with£105.85 million for the related period in 2005.

John Lewis director of retail operations Gareth Thomas said that the store in Solihull had led the way, making 'tremendous progress' in the week, with sales up 26.7 per cent.

He added that 'continued enthusiastic customer reaction to the Christmas assortments, gifts and Christmas shops' had helped sales for the stores division rise by 12.4 per cent.

The company said the equivalent figure for Waitrose was 12.5 per cent, with 'mild weather creating unseasonable demand for salads, delicatessen, ice cream and ice cubes'.

The strong performance of johnlewis.com continued, with sales up 70 per cent on last year.