Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
John Lewis achieved sales of £82.2m last week (to June 4) – an increase of 11.5% on last year.
The department store group’s commercial director Paula Nickolds said the lift was due to a rise in footfall during half term week, which fell a week later than in 2015.
All three products areas reported strong increases in sales, with EHT (Electricals & Home Technology) the stand-out performer at 17.1% up on the year. Paula said sales in electricals were undoubtedly driven by the impending summer of sport, with television sales performing well ahead of the Euro 2016 kick off this Friday (June 10).
Sales across Home products finished the week up 7.7%, with items across categories such as Gifting and Textiles performing particularly well. Haberdashery had a strong week with sewing machines up 21% compared with last year, influenced by the ongoing TV series ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’ on BBC2. Customers were also quick to embrace the warmer weather, with outdoor living sales up 45.4%.
Fashion sales were up 10.1% helped by a very good week for Beauty, coinciding with the launch of makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury’s cosmetics range in John Lewis Cardiff. Wellbeing and sports items also drove growth in this category, perhaps suggesting that customers are seeking to get in shape before their summer holidays, Paula commented.
