Slow week for Waitrose
The unsettled weather helped John Lewis' department store business to a strong performance in the week to June 16, but led to a challenging week at sister supermarket business Waitrose.

John Lewis sales jumped 9.5 per cent to£47.8 million over the week. The period started steadily, but built to double-digit increases by Thursday, which continued through to Saturday.

Textiles and indoor furniture did well, but the cooler weather meant fashion and outdoor furniture struggled. The best performing store was the Trafford Centre, followed by High Wycombe and Peterborough.

Waitrose only managed a 3.6 per cent rise over the week, compared with a rise of almost 17 per cent in the same week last year, when there was a heatwave and the World Cup was on. Several stores were hit by flooding, although trade recovered as the weekend approached.

Unsurprisingly, sales of beers and snacks were down, but shoppers dealt with the cold weather by stocking up on soup and pies.

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