Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Overall sales were down -1.4% last week (to March 21) for John Lewis, but the Home directorate put on 2.7% year-on-year.
Branches saw a mix of trading performances, with good results from Exeter at 3.2% up and John Lewis ‘at home’ stores in Chichester up 2%, Poole up 1.8% and Croydon up 0.9%. For full-line shops, the best performance came from Stratford City, which was up 4.2%. The healthy performance of the department store group’s online business continued, with growth up 12.7%.
At a directorate level, Fashion led the way with all of the key areas level or up. Home came in at 2.7% up with Home Accessories and Gifts leading the way at 5.3% up, with Seasonal Gifts storming ahead at 32.4% up and Lighting at 7.3% up. Next was Furniture with notable performances from Fitted Furniture at 19.2% up and Upholstery at 8.1% up. Textiles and Carpets put on 2.5%.
Sales in EHT (Electricals & Home Technology) were down -8.4% but within that, Small Electricals continued to find favour with customers, achieving a 13.1% year-on-year gain.
John Lewis director of selling, London and South, David Barford said: “Easter is approaching and this offers us an opportunity to capture sales across all areas as customers prepare for spring, the school holidays and all things Fashion and Home and leisure-related.”
