Liverpool bucks John Lewis's downward trend

Aug 1 2008

Department store chain John Lewis today reported a fall in weekly sales, but said half-year figures were still better than a year earlier.

The group, which has 26 branches, announced revenues of £45.8 million for the week to last Saturday, representing a 4.5% fall on the same period of 2007.

The week brought an end to the first half of the company’s financial year, with overall sales for the six months ahead 0.6% on a year earlier.

Selling operations director Dan Knowles said: “Although sales have been harder to come by than we would have liked, and indeed planned for, we should nonetheless take pride in having grown our sales year on year.”

The company’s home department has been under most pressure amid a decline in housing market activity, resulting in a sales drop of 10.4% last week and a 5.3% fall in the half year.

The strongest branch performance came from London's Oxford Street, with sales up 8.5% during the week, while recently relocated branches at Cambridge and Liverpool traded ahead of budget, John Lewis said.

All other stores reported sales declines, with outlets at Southampton and Peterborough both down by more than 20% on a year earlier.

Out-of-town sites have been the hardest hit in the portfolio, as consumers cut back on shopping trips because of high fuel prices. One such site, Cribbs Causeway at Bristol, saw sales fall by 17.4% on a year earlier.

Sales via Johnlewis.com were ahead by more than 30% during the week, the company added.

Mr Knowles said of the overall performance: “We grew sales well in the first half of the week and then found the going less good in the second half, as a result of sunny and warm weather across much of the country.”

The warmer weather had a positive impact at Waitrose, the supermarket part of the John Lewis Partnership, with weekly sales ahead 3.8% on a year earlier at £75.5 million. Growth in the first 26 weeks of the year came in at 5.5%.