John Lewis shoppers go mad for Loved & Found, sports and Apple Watch

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 4, 2017

The first full week of its summer clearance sale certainly gave John Lewis a boost in the seven days to July 1. The department stores and online retailer saw its sales rising a strong 8.8% to reach £98.73 million.

But while the Fashion directory lagged that growth rate with a rise of ‘only’ 7%, it was still buoyant, as it has been for much of 2017. The warm weather across much of the UK continued to boost sales here with British consumers now seemingly convinced that summer really has arrived.

But that doesn’t mean they were only buying bikinis, sarongs and flip flops, In fact, the retailer’s Loved & Found standalone boutique for new and contemporary brands in fashion, accessories and beauty did really well last week with a 46.3% leap. The curated collection is available online and in its Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool stores.

Beauty, wellbeing and leisure sales were also encouraging, rising 12.5%, driven by strong sales across both beauty and sport ranges, which were up 12.8% and 18.6% respectively. The sport increase reflects a growing appetite for gym-to-street sports apparel and shoes and must be good news for brands such as Jack Wills and Superdry that are entering the sports category more heavily this year.

Back with John Lewis, Home also had a good week with sales up 8%. Outdoor Living performed particularly well, rising 38.4%, as the good weather continued to see people spending more time outdoors. Decor Bed Linen also saw a rise in sales, up 12.8%.

Electrical and Home Technology had a really strong week too, with sales up 12.4% year-on-year after a series of up and down performances for most of this financial year. As customers took advantage of clearance prices. Sales of Apple products rose 34% overall, with Apple Watches sales increasing by an astounding 115%.