Bargain-hunters boost John Lewis sales

John Lewis presented another storming set of figures during the first week of its clearance sales, with sales up 25.7 per cent compared with the same period a year ago as consumers chased bargains.

All 35 John Lewis shops that had been trading for at least a year saw year-on-year sales growth. The electrical and home-technology division led the way with sales growth of 43.5 per cent year-on-year. Fashion sales were also up by a robust 19.9 per cent.

All of which would seem to take John Lewis closer to overtaking M&S before long.

Annual sales at John Lewis, together with its Waitrose supermarkets, are forecast to be £9.5bn for this year, compared to £10bn for M&S.

Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said: "The very impressive John Lewis sales figures suggest consumers were very keen to take advantage of genuine bargains in the clearance sales to treat themselves to items that they were otherwise reluctant to make in a still difficult and uncertain economic environment.

"Many consumers also likely bought big-ticket items in the clearance sales that they were otherwise struggling to afford."