John Lewis sees dip in sales

John Lewis has seen a dip in sales on a like-for-like basis for the second week in a row.

Sales were down 3% excluding VAT in the week to 7 May, or 1.4% including VAT. Only three stores - Oxford Street, Aberdeen and Peter Jones - managed to increase takings, even with the benefit of higher VAT. 12 stores recorded double digit declines in sales, with the first At Home store in Poole again the worst performer, down 16.4%.

Online sales growth was 19.4%, below the 26.5% recorded over the year so far.

Fashion was the best performing product area, with sales up 4.9%. Buying director for fashion Susanne Given said the “Pippa effect” drove sales of occasionwear.