Sales of small electricals up 11% at John Lewis

Total sales for John Lewis & Partners were down 1.2% last week (to Saturday October 20) compared with the same week last year.

Jon Williams, director of merchandising operations for the department store group, said: “Overall Home sales were down 4.9%. However, sales of fitted furniture were up 38% and fitted flooring sales were up 8%. We also saw strong sales of lighting and pictures, and sales of Halloween products were up 6%.

“Electrical and home technology sales were down 1.8%. Demand for new products helped drive audio sales, which were up 7%, and sales of small electricals, up 11%.

“Fashion sales were up 3.3%. Own-brand fashion sales rose by 5.6% due to the popularity of new ranges. Sales were also boosted by us price-matching a competitor’s promotion through our ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ policy.”

 John Lewis & Partners opened its 51^st shop, at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, on October 18