John Lewis fashion sales up 5%

John Lewis saw sales rise 9.9% last week as the retailer enjoyed the best performance of the half year.

Fashion sales were up 5%, boosted by strong sales of childrenswear.

The retailer opened three new stores in the last month and also revamped its Cheadle store.

Paula Nickolds, buying director, Home, John Lewis commented: "It seems many customers are starting to feel festive as sales of Christmas Shop and gifting ranges across our offer are already selling well. We now find ourselves on the cusp of the Christmas sales build. Our combined focus will ensure we provide the most enjoyable shopping experience for our customers every time they visit us and capture every sale possible."

The strongest performing stores were Newcastle, Trafford and High Wycombe with sales up 2.4%, 2.1% and 0.1% respectively. Online sales achieved a 36% increase on last year, driven by an uplift in traffic to the website.