John Lewis has sluggish week as warm weather fashion suffers in chilly UK

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 14, 2019

Trading continues to be volatile for John Lewis Partnership at the moment with the seven days up to May 11 seeing a sales fall of 2% to £205.85 million.

But it was the company’s Waitrose supermarkets that were largely to blame while the John Lewis department store chain itself managed a tiny sales increase, of 0.6%.

John Lewis didn't seem too upset about such a small rise and said that it saw a “strong performance in our shops, particularly with the cool, wet weather at the start of the week.”

The Fashion department's sales rose, although not as much as we’re used to seeing from this key business division. They were up just 0.2%, lagging behind the chain’s overall performance, which is an unusual position for it to be in.

It was helped more during the week by Beauty, Wellbeing & Leisure, which saw its sales rising 8.4%, while the warm-weather fashion product that has been selling well of late was dented by the cooler temperatures last week. And menswear was slightly down as sales of this category had benefited disproportionately a year ago from promotional offers.

The Home department’s sales reverted to their usual negative performance and were down 3.3%. But the retailer saw a good performance in gift, cook & dine, particularly earlier in the week when it was running offers and price-matching competitor promotions. Outdoor living sales were down against a record week last year, again driven by the difference in the weather, after a period in which warmer temperatures had boosted these products.