John Lewis aided by fashion and beauty as sunshine wipes out memory of last year's snow

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 5, 2019

John Lewis Partnership sales rose as much as 4.5%, reaching £207.16 million in the seven days to March 2 and for once it was the John Lewis department stores chain, rather than the Waitrose supermarkets, that was the strongest performer.

In fact, the department stores really powered ahead with an astonishing 11.4% increase year-on-year. We had speculated a week ago about the impact of the weather on the week’s sales and the company clearly felt a positive impact, a very positive one, as last week saw some February days breaking records for high temperatures and the amount of sunshine.

That was music to the ears of John Lewis and came at just the right time as deliveries of early spring merchandise got under way. 

But before we get carried away with ourselves, we have to acknowledge the fact that comparisons for the week were also kinder to the company. You may remember that exactly a year ago, the UK was shivering as heavy snowstorms meant fashion shopping was the furthest thing from consumers minds.

The company said that it “saw positive sales across all categories, driven by the warmer weather, price-matching competitors through our Never Knowingly Undersold promise, and annualising a slower week of sales due to last year’s [snow].”

But staying with the good news, Fashion department sales rose 23.3% in the latest week and new season clothing was up 17% as consumers appeared to be in the mood to refresh their wardrobes in the hope of more springlike weather ahead. Price-matching also helped drive beauty sales up 37.8%.

Sales in the beleaguered Home department also managed to rise with a 5.2% increase. This was helped by a 22% rise in Mother's Day gifting sales, a 15.9% bath shop rise, and a 12% increase in furniture sales.

The Electrical and Home Technology department also did well with a 5% increase that was boosted by a 10% rise in wearable technology sales and headphones turnover up 39%.