John Lewis enjoys strong bank holiday sales

The department store said poor weather in the north drove footfall while sun in the south dampened sales. The retailer reported sales of £62.2m in the week to May 12.

Electricals and home technology continued to be the strongest performer, up 39% last year fuelled by iPads and the digital television switchover. Online sales rose 50.4%.

Homewares sales rose 11.9% with indoor furniture up 17%, offsetting a poor week for outdoor furniture. Fashion sales rose 6.9% with menswear showing a 13.4% uplift while umbrellas were 200% up.

Trade at the Oxford Street beauty department following the launch of its new beauty hall was up 13%.

Croydon was the strongest performing store, up 55.3%. Cardiff was the laggard at -4.7%.

John Lewis operations director Dino Rocos “Highlight of the week was the celebrity-attended launch of the new Beauty Hall in Oxford Street. Feedback, echoed in social media, has been hugely positive with more than 700 comments posted.”

Total sales at Waitrose last week were 3.7 per cent higher than last year at £105.3m, a strong figure given the earlier fall of the May bank holiday this year.

Waitrose supply director David Jones: “Sales at Waitrose.com were up by nearly 42% on last year as more people chose to shop from the comfort of their own home.”