John Lewis sales fell for the fourth consecutive week, down 3.2 per cent in the week to February 14, as poor weather continued to hit trade.

This was a marked improvement, however, on the previous week when the heavy snow led to a year-on-year sales fall of 17.1 per cent.

Fashion was the best performing area for the department store and was the only category to achieve a sales increase for the week.
Sales for John Lewis’ Waitrose stores were up 4.9 per cent with the bad weather having a positive impact on its sales over the Valentine’s weekend.

Waitrose finance director Richard Mayfield said: “The rainy weather swept across much of the country last week and our Valentine's Meal Deal provided a great value and cosy alternative to eating out. The staying-at-home theme continued, with sales of cooking ingredients rising by more than 20 per cent.”

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