John Lewis suffered a slump in sales last week as milder than usual weather impacted its performance in fashion and home.

The department store chain’s revenues dropped 4.7% to £86.7m in the week to October 21.

John Lewis blamed the tumble on “continuing mild weather”, which drove fashion sales down 6.9% during the period.

However, the high street bellwether said its own-brand womenswear ranges, jewellery and lingerie all posted revenue growth, while sales of beauty, wellbeing and leisure products inched up 0.5%.

Home sales slipped at a similar rate to fashion, falling 6.6% compared to the same week last year.

John Lewis said price-matching a competitor’s promotion helped drive lighting sales up 5%.

Sales within its electrical and home technology department were down 0.5%, despite the success of products such as smartphones, computers and iPads.

Sister retailer Waitrose registered an uplift in sales during the week, spearheaded by online sales and “strong” performance within the beers, wines and spirits category.

The upmarket grocer posted a 2.5% increase in revenues to £126.9m, as online sales surged 23% compared to the same week a year ago.

Waitrose said the spike in ecommerce sales was driven by “organised customers” who were preparing early for Christmas.

Wine sales rose more than 10%, with revenues from its Argentinian lines rocketing 120%.

Sales of beer were also up 10% while spirits grew 9%, helped by a hike in revenues from tequila and gin, which grew 50% and 28% respectively.

Waitrose was also boosted by the performance of Halloween-related products, which increased 9% during the week.

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