John Lewis breaks through £100m-a-week sales barrier

Sales jumped 10.7% to £101.4m in the week ending November 16, helped by the onset of colder weather. This is the earliest the retailer has reached the weekly figure during a year.

Boots, slippers and hot water bottles proved popular, according to the department store.

In fashion, Barbour was the stand-out performer and sales of outerwear and knitwear helped to deliver an overall 29.8% increase in kidswear sales on last year.

John Lewis said there were signs that customers are starting to prepare their homes for Christmas with mattress sales up on last year and folding chairs, napkins and towels performing well.

The retailer’s online channel continued to grow, up 23.7% over the week. Online share is now 31%.

In electricals, iPads continue to do well following the launch of John Lewis’ three-year guarantee across all devices which runs until November 28. Demand for larger-screen TVs continues to grow apace, according to the retailer, with sales of 46” TVs particularly strong.

John Lewis retail director Andrew Murphy said: “We’re delighted to have achieved such a strong uplift in sales and it’s clear that as customers start to plan for Christmas, John Lewis is their destination of choice.

“All directorates have put in an impressive performance and the online share result is a great testament to the strength of our omnichannel model. In our shops, 11 branches put on double-digit increases on last year, with the addition of fashion to High Wycombe continuing to delight customers.

“Both Oxford Street and Peter Jones delivered solid performances, showing Christmas has really arrived in the capital. The launch of our advert has resulted in a real festive buzz – Lily Allen is currently No.2 in the iTunes chart and we have brought the story of the bear and the hare to life for customers by installing caves in eleven of our shops so that children can have their photograph taken with cutouts of the advert’s stars.”