John Lewis sales down 3.2% last week due to Easter distortion
John Lewis saw a drop in sales last week due to the early arrival of Easter.
In the week ending 6 April, sales were down 3.2% on the same week last year although the retailer said that the early Easter meant it was comparing six days trading with seven.
Paula Nickolds, buying director for the home directorate, said: “Our Easter trading performance is better judged on the two weeks of trade over the Easter period so far. Our performance over this important period was impressive at 10.5%, representing our strongest Easter results ever.”
The strong sales over the two-week period reflect growth across all channels.
While sales in the Home directorate were down 7.3% in the week ending 6 April, the directorate achieved a 7.2% increase on the equivalent Easter weeks last year driven by “record-breaking” sales of home accessories and gifts. Lighting sales were up 20% while sales of gift food and seasonal products increased by 28% over the two-week period.
Despite tough comparatives due to the digital switchover last year, Electricals and Home Technology sales rose by 19.4% against the Easter period last year as trade was boosted by a 62% increase in sales of tablet computers. Small Electricals also performed strongly, with sales increasing 44% as a ‘trade-in’ offer helped to drive footfall. In the week ending 6 April, sales were up 5.4%.
Although, sales of spring/summer clothing were impacted by the cold weather, Fashion sales were up 5.6% across the two week period although in the week ending 6 April sales fell by 7.4%.
John Lewis said its new Shop Spring campaign, where a different exclusive product is available each day throughout April, had been welcomed by customers with the exclusives driving frequency of visit to both the stores and to jl.com.
In the week of ending 6 April, online sales rose by 18.7%.
Nickolds added: “There is of course one more important week to go before we can fully judge our Easter performance. With an extra day’s trade this week and school holidays still ongoing there is plenty of opportunity for the recent momentum to continue. We are well set, with fantastic product, stock and availability, to take advantage as soon as customers start to think about spring and summer.”
