‘Mixed weather’ leads to John Lewis and Partnership sales slip

John Lewis and Waitrose have both reported a sales decrease for its 11th week of trading, dragged down by a week of mixed weather and poor homeware performance.

Compared with last year’s sales during the same period sales decreased by 1.6% to £210m, compared with £214m last year.

For Waitrose total sales, excluding fuel, decreased by 1% compared to the same period last year. However, according to group as the weather “turns colder” customers have started stocking up on Christmas food, and sales of mince pies were up 14%, stollen 12%, and advent calendars increased in sales compared to the same week last year.

Total sales for the week for John Lewis were down 2.3% compared to the same week last year. Electrical and Home Technology sales were down 4.8%, however, accessories sales were up 2.5% due to strong sales within earphones.

Overall fashion sales were up 4% on last year, and menswear sales were up 3.1% and men’s cashmere performed “particularly well”, with sales up 12%. Women’s accessories sales increased  by 4.1%, and beauty, wellbeing and leisure sales were up 16.7%.