Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Sales last week (to February 13) were up 7% at department store group John Lewis, with customers preparing for Valentine’s Day driving sales.
Fashion sales were up 2.9% on last year, with the biggest growth coming from Women’s Accessories and Beauty Wellbeing & Leisure. These are high gifting areas for Valentine’s Day, driven by Beauty Counters, up 4.5% on the year, and Handbags, up 6.4%.
Home sales were up 3.1% on last year, with customers reacting well to big ticket products. This reflected in Furniture closing the week up 6.4%. Home Accessories and Gifts also had a strong week, with sales up 3.5% on the year, which includes Valentine’s assortments such as jewellery boxes, candles, and gift voucher experience days.
EHT (Electricals & Home Technology) had a strong performance with sales up 15.6% on the year. Within this, Communication Technology was up 26.2%, driven by good results in Tablets & Computers and Accessories.
John Lewis operations director Dino Rocos said: “The week ahead brings with it half term and some colder weather. These two elements combined with strong ‘newness’ in the assortment should position us well.”
