Record-breaking festive season
The John Lewis Partnership revealed sales jumped in the five weeks to January 6, with strong trading at both Waitrose and the eponymous department store chain.

Like-for-like sales at John Lewis department stores - including web site and catalogue - were up 10.8 per cent, for the five-week period.

Over the same period, fashion sales - including beauty - rose 10.4 per cent. Home increased 9.5 per cent, while electricals and home technology climbed 15.4 per cent.

John Lewis managing director Charlie Mayfield said: 'Christmas was a great climax to a year of consistent growth for John Lewis department stores. We had three successive record weeks with sales exceeding£90 million for the first time.

'In our peak week we took£94 million, which was over 10 per cent on the 2005 record of£85 million. These results reflect an all-round successful performance. The momentum has carried through into clearance, where sales hit the highest ever for a single day's trade on December 27.'

Waitrose revealed like-for-like sales up 5.6 per cent and sales rocketed 10.8 per cent (excluding petrol) for the five weeks to January 6.

Waitrose managing director Steven Esom said: 'Our sales for the Christmas and new year period reflect our robust growth for the year to date. In particular, the business achieved exceptional sales in the weeks before Christmas and the new year.

'This successful performance shows that customers appreciated high-quality produce, coupled with excellent customer service.

'Our new and acquired branches continue to trade above expectations, attracting a high number of new customers, especially over this period.'

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