John Lewis leads the high street with strong sales rise
John Lewis and Waitrose today reported another big rise in weekly sales, further fuelling hopes that consumer confidence was coming back.
The department store's overall sales were up 15.1% year-on-year ago, while the sales at the group's supermarket rose 13.7%.
Analyst Matthew McEachran of Singer noted that, despite its reputation as a retail barometer, John Lewis was not representative as it has been outperforming rivals, helped by a strong performance in its fashion and internet businesses.
John Lewis's stores in Oxford Street, Bluewater and Kingston were among its leaders, beating the national average.
Oxford Street sales were up 15.8%, Bluewater 21.7%, Kingston 18.3%, Peter Jones 14.4% and Brent Cross 7.4%.
John Lewis said fashion sales jumped 20.8% last week, while online sales were up a third. Sales of homewares rose 19.%.
Economic reports are showing improving consumer confidence. Figures from the GfK NOP market research group today showed consumer confidence improving for a second straight month, and yesterday the CBI said retail sales volumes were rising at their fastest pace in nearly three years.
