John Lewis sees another fashion sales fall but Halloween hits the spot

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 31, 2017

John lewis once again reflected the overall shaky state of the UK retail market last week with the company on Tuesday saying that its sales fell 4% year-on-year to £98.7 million in the seven days to October 28.

The company has reported several weeks of lower sales and it has also reported a string of lower fashion sales. It didn’t break that pattern this time around with the period’s fashion sales having dropped 1.9%. On the plus side, that was better than the retailer’s overall turnover fall and there was an understandable explanation for the fall - the UK’s continuing unseasonably warm weather that has made autumn in many parts of the country less chilly than expected.

But the company also said that sales were dented by a competitor promotion being run on fewer fashion and beauty products than last year so less of a motivation for shoppers to buy products now.

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The company added that sales in its Home department were down by 2%, also due to fewer promotions. But lighting sales and the Cookshop department were strong last week with sales up 20.5% and 4.1% respectively. Furniture sales also grew, rising 1.9%. Importantly too, Halloween products were up 19% with John lewis clearly continuing its run as a go-to location for this ever-bigger shopping season.

Electrical and Home Technology sales were down 7.% but Smart Home sales grew. However, there was lower demand for smartphones as customers awaited the new iPhone X, which goes on sale this Friday.