Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
John Lewis enjoyed ‘strong trading’ last week (to October 8) with sales of £89.9m, up 11.5% on the year.
Director of shop trade Maggie Porteous said the department store group posted good performances across all three directorates as customers embraced its Autumn Winter collections.
In Home, sales were up 5.2% on the year. Furniture did well with fitted furniture up 29.1% and beds up 17.3%, while Cook & Dine was up 6.7%.
EHT (Electricals & Home Technology) finished the week at up 16.1%. The latest GoPro camcorder (an exclusive to John Lewis for two weeks ahead of the market) sold well. Smart home and audio were up 28.8% and mobile and broadband had a strong week at +186.1%.
Sales in Fashion were up 14.6%, with the cooler weather supporting an increase across different product areas. Womenswear was up 26.5% supported by good performances across womens’ shoes, outerwear and knitwear.
Maggie Porteous added that the first full week of sales at John Lewis’ new Chelmsford branch in Essex was strong, supported by a good performance in fashion product areas.
John Lewis moved into Essex for the first time on September 29 with the opening of Chelmsford, which represents an investment of £18 million. The department store, which is part of Chelmsford’s new £150m Bond Street development, includes 90,000sq ft of selling space over three floors and stocks over 65,000 products.
