John Lewis posts solid Christmas sales
John Lewis posts solid Christmas sales
By Lilly Vitorovich
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. retail group John Lewis Partnership PLC Monday posted solid Christmas sales figures as consumers splurged on gourmet food, beauty products and the latest electrical gadgets, fueling hopes that other retailer's may have performed well over the festive season.
Stripping out fuel, sales at the company's supermarket division Waitrose rose 11% over the five weeks to Jan. 6, with like-for-like sales up 5.6%.
Total like-for-like sales at the John Lewis department stores, which also includes the website and catalogue business, rose 11% over the five weeks to Jan. 6.
Over the same period, fashion sales including beauty rose 10%. Home sales rose 9.5%, while electrical and home technology sales jumped 15%.
John Lewis didn't provide any profit figures for the period.
