Home sales down 4.2% for John Lewis

Sales for John Lewis last week (to Saturday February 25) totalled £74.4 million: down 3.1% year-on-year.

The department store group’s online trade director Mark Felix said the result was due to the fact that “this time last year we were matching a competitor’s promotion, which didn’t take place this year”.

Home sales were down 4.2% year-on-year, also impacted by the comparison to last year’s promotion in some categories where branded products feature.

There were strong increases in some areas of Home, with bed and bedroom furniture sales up 13.8%, bed linen up 6.5% and duvets and pillows up 5.2%. Lighting was also up 1.7%.

In Electricals & Home Technology (EHT), sales were up 2.5% on the year, driven by audio and connected home as well as mobile phones.

Fashion sales were down 7.8% on the year – again, because this time last year the retailer was matching a competitor’s promotion. This was particularly apparent in branded fashion.

But own-brand designer collaborations including Somerset by Alice Temperley and Bruce by Bruce Oldfield were up on the year.

Elsewhere in the fashion area, sales of toys increased by 11.5% and girls’ clothing was up 2.3% as the new half term began for many schools.