Steady growth has continued at John Lewis with sales up 8.3 per cent to £46.2 million in the week to January 19.

John Lewis head of selling development Barry Matheson said: “John Lewis kept pace with its recent fine form and is now set for a sparkling full-year result. A number of branches benefited from being up against softer figures from last year, given the storms which hit a number of areas in 2007.”

Waitrose also performed well, despite floods and weather warnings. Sales at Waitrose rose 7.5 per cent to£74.6 million for the period.

The supermarket also noted increased sales of free-range eggs and poultry following TV coverage on Channel Four.

Total sales for the John Lewis group were up 7.6 per cent to£121 million.

Topics