Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Sales at John Lewis were up 5.3% to £75.3m last week (to April 16) – and its At Home branches performed ‘particularly well’.
Maggie Porteous, director of selling, north and new format of the department store group, said: “Home sales were up 6.4% on the year, with strong demand for gift ranges as well as furniture, which was up 8.1%. Big ticket sales were strong too, with upholstery and textiles leading the way.”
But EHT (Electricals & Home Technology) was the star performer, with sales up 11.4% on the year. Growth in communications technology was strong, boosted by new releases from Apple and Microsoft. Mobile phone sales continued to drive sales in technology, with the new Samsung S6 popular among customers.
Maggie Porteous added: “Despite a 246% uplift in umbrellas, Fashion sales were down 1% on the year as a result of the cooler weather. Beauty, Wellbeing and Leisure had a good week at +4.7%, as did Menswear which posted a 6.3% uplift in sales.”
