Sales surge at John Lewis Partnership stores

Sales at the John Lewis Partnership, which includes department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, rose by 19.8 per cent in the week to 4 April and were up 7.3 per cent in the nine weeks to 4 April, the partnership said yesterday.

Department store sales rose 14.1 per cent in the week to 4 April compared with the same week a year earlier, while Waitrose sales surged by almost 25 per cent in the week to April 4.

In the nine weeks to 4 April, department store sales were up 7.7 per cent on the same year earlier period.

The latest week was one of complex comparisons, John Lewis' assistant director of trading, Nigel Brotherton, said in a statement.

"The equivalent week last year was the week following Easter."

John Lewis sales rose 9.4 per cent in the week to 28 March compared with the same week a year before.