John Lewis unveils bumper Christmas trading

Britain’s biggest department stores group reported sales of £684.8m for the five weeks to 29 December, including a record take of £31.7m for the first day of its sales in stores on 27 December.

Like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new stores, rose 13 per cent.

John Lewis has traditionally outperformed its high street rivals in recent years due to its strong online offering, new modern stores and more affluent customer base.

Online sales for the period rose 44.3 per cent on a year ago, and now account for a quarter of the total John Lewis business, the employee-owned group said on Wednesday.

John Lewis is outperforming the market by a very significant degree. Neil Saunders, Columino retail analyst

Electrical and home technology sales were 30.9 per cent up, while fashion and beauty sales increased by 10.4 per cent.

Managing director Andy Street said: “In an economic climate which continues to be volatile, to have achieved these results is testimony to the strength of the John Lewis brand and the commitment of all our partners to give outstanding service.”

Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail analysts Conlumino, said the John Lewis results were outstanding.

“A stellar set of figures from John Lewis kicks off the trading update season and sets an extremely high bar that most other retailers will struggle to match,” he told Channel 4 News.

“By any standards, this is an impressive performance, but when the general trading environment over Christmas is taken into account, it underlines the fact that John Lewis is outperforming the market by a very significant degree.”

Mr Saunders said the chain’s Christmas advert, The Snowman’s Journey, had probably helped boost figures.