Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Total sales for John Lewis totalled £74.9m last week (to Saturday April 22), up 1.6% year-on-year.
The department store group’s online trade director Mark Felix commented: “Sales were still impacted by the fall of Easter this year compared with last. The majority of John Lewis shops were shut on Easter Sunday, which fell into the week’s trading.”
He said sales in Home were down 5% (“impacted by one day’s less trade”). Gift food and seasonal remained strong with sales up 7.1% due to continued Easter sales, and stationery saw a 5.2% rise.
EHT (Electricals & Home Technology) had a strong week of trading, up 11.7%, largely driven by promotions over the Easter period.
Vision, including TVs, had a particularly good week with sales up 14.3%, and audio and connected home also saw a healthy uplift of 7.4%. Elsewhere within EHT, mobile and photography saw sales rise by a huge 57.9% as new launches helped drive sales.
Fashion sales were down 0.4%. But women’s casualwear, swimwear and nightwear enjoyed growth, up by 16.9%. Childrenswear had a good week of trade largely driven by sales of children’s shoes, up 31.5%, as kids headed back to school after the Easter break.
