John Lewis Partnership sales bloom in warm weather

At Waitrose, sales were up 7.6% to £133.5m in the week to April 8. In the first 10 weeks of the year, sales were up 0.4%.

Waitrose personnel director Helen Hyde said: “Sales, while still distorted due to the fall of Easter, were also driven by the hot weather, as al fresco dining and summer drinking trends saw positive growth.

“Outdoor activities were naturally a popular choice for the balmy weather as sun-care sales soared.”

Barbecue coal sales were up 200%, rosé wine sales rose 84% and Pimm’s soared 232%.

John Lewis sales

At John Lewis, sales were up 3.5% at £82m in the week to April 8. Over the first 10 weeks, sales rose 0.2%.

Outdoor living items were the top performer, with sales up 92.3% although overall home sales were down 2.9% as big ticket sales were adversely affected by the warm weather.

Fashion sales were up 7.5%, with womenswear up 14.2%.

John Lewis operations director Dino Rocos said: “Fashion accessories were up 18.2%, driven by sunglasses sales. Our new AND/OR denim range performed well on the back of our personalisation denim workshop, running at our Oxford Street shop.

“Like-for-like sales of Easter-related gift food were up 9.1% on the comparative week from last year, with the Prestat Gin & Tonic Easter egg and our Chocolate Hen on Edible Grass two bestsellers.”

Electric and home technology sales rose 6.9%, driven by new product launches such as Google Home.

Across the partnership, sales were up 6% to £215.54m in the week to April 8 and up 0.3% in the first 10 weeks.