John Lewis bucks the trend

High street bellwether John Lewis bucked the retail sector's gloom by reporting an "outstanding" Christmas, with underlying sales up 7.6 per cent in the five weeks to January 1.

Its sister firm, upmarket supermarket Waitrose, capped its best-ever Christmas trading by announcing plans to create 3,000 jobs this year by opening 39 stores.

Department store chain John Lewis said total sales were 545m, 8.9 per cent up on a year earlier. Electricals and home technology sales surged 14.4 per cent, while fashion lifted 8.7 per cent. John Lewis said it is gaining market share in all categories. Online sales for the five weeks were 42 per cent up on last year.

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Andy Street, John Lewis managing director, said: "Sales during both Christmas and clearance have been outstanding. We have broken records for the biggest week and biggest day as well as hitting a key milestone for our online trade – 500m for the year.

"Our success confirms our strength as a multichannel retailer. This capability was particularly important during the adverse weather. Online sales soared during the first snowfall as customers struggled to get to the shops." Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "This is an extremely impressive performance given the severe disruption to shopping activity caused by two bouts of severe weather in December.

"It would be nice to take this as a sign that overall retail activity held up well over December but the evidence so far indicates John Lewis was very much an out-performer."

Waitrose's expansion plans nearly double its rate of growth from the 20 it opened in 2010. The new outlets will include 27 convenience stores, marking a big increase in the roll-out of its smaller store format launched last year.

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Waitrose said underlying sales grew by 5.4 per cent in the first 23 days of December, driven by strong demand for luxury Christmas products as well as staples. Managing director Mark Price said: "Our strong Christmas trading figures give us confidence for the year ahead, when we will continue to invest in the future growth of our business."

It will open supermarkets in Jersey and Guernsey, Stratford, Raynes Park and Wimbledon in London, as well as Exeter, Marlow and Newton Mearns in Glasgow.

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