John Lewis boosted by cold weather
A spike in demand for autumn clothing ranges following chillier weather has helped boost sales at retailer John Lewis, it emerged today.
Shoppers rushing to buy warmer weather items such as cashmere, gloves, and scarves propelled sales 7% higher in the week to September 29, the chain’s weekly sales figures revealed.
Fears over the retail sector have grown as consumer spending comes under pressure following five recent interest rate hikes.
But the department store chain and Waitrose owner, which is jointly owned by its employees, described the performance as “a strong step up the sales curve as we move towards Christmas”.
Sales across the partnership as a whole were 7.1% up on the same week last year, with strong sales also seen from the Waitrose supermarkets.
