Sales at department store chain John Lewis were boosted in the last week of 2018, thanks to what the firm said was “very strong sales on Christmas Eve” as shoppers rushed to bag last-minute items.
The group reported that total sales for the week ended 29 December were up 4.5% on the year before, with sales in its fashion, beauty wellbeing & leisure, and electrical & home technology rising 10.7%, 25.3%, and 3.1% respectively.
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The group also reported a 103% rise in its gift foods arm and a 25% rise in gift cook & dine as shoppers rushed for last-minute gifts.
The only segment to report a decline was Home, with sales falling 2.3% compared to last year.
Across the 22 weeks to 29 December, the group reported flat sales compared to the year before.
The department store chain has been bucking the trend of late in what has been a difficult year for retailers both online and offline, having reported a 9.3% jump in weekly fashion sales earlier in December after matching promotions put on by some of its peers.
Across the whole John Lewis Partnership, which also includes supermarket chain Waitrose, total sales for the week were up 11.1% on the year before while sales for the 48 weeks to 29 December slipped 0.5%.
Waitrose itself reported a 19.2% increase in year-on-year sales over the week while for the 22 weeks sales fell 0.8%.
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The firm is definitely having a better start to the year than its publicly traded rival Debenhams PLC (LON:DEB), which saw its shares slide 7% to 4.7p in early afternoon trading as investors braced themselves for what is expected to have been a disappointing Christmas for the department store chain.