Fashion fares well at John Lewis as casualwear gives way to occasion dressing

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 13, 2017

June began fairly well for John Lewis with the department store retailer seeing its sales rising 3.9% in the seven days to June 10 for a total take of almost £74m. That increase came as special occasion dressing came to the fore, rather than the casualwear that has dominated recent weeks.

The rise in sales was mainly driven by price matching a competitor's event on Fashion and Cook and Dine products through its commitment to being Never Knowingly Undersold.

Fashion was particularly strong with a sales rise of 7.9% year-on-year. But one of the biggest rises in the directory came in Beauty, Wellbeing and Leisure where sales rose by 15.6%, followed by Menswear sales which grew by 9.5%.

Womenswear sales rose by a smaller, but still strong, 5.2%, jewellery was up 14.5% and women’s footwear beat all other categories on a 15.7% increase.

However, sales of its collaborative women's fashion ranges, which include Modern Rarity, Somerset by Alice Temperley and Bruce by Bruce Oldfield, topped even footwear’s performance. They rose an impressive 45.7% as customers bought occasion outfits for weddings and summer events.

Home sales were up 1.3%. Cook and Dine sales were positively impacted by price matching the competitor's event which saw sales in its Living Dining category grow by 10.6% and Utility Shop sales increase by 6.5%.