Despite an unseasonably mild start to October, John Lewis sales were up last week 3.4% year-on-year.
Sales in fashion climbed by 7.1% thanks to some of its best performing categories such as own-brand assortments, cashmere and menswear. Outerwear has also performed well in spite of the warmer weather in autumn.
Sales in the home department also edged up 0.6% thanks to strong performances in the bedding and fitted furniture categories.
Electrical and home technology sales saw an increase by 2.6% due to the “super” launch of the iPhone 6S and 6S+ and Apple Watch. However, the overall directorate performance was grounded by wider sales.
Barry Matheson, director of retail services at John Lewis, said: “We had a strong first full week's trading in Birmingham. The branch delivered a strong start for fashion, with exciting new brands such as loved&found proving popular, and customers also reacted positively to our new self-service led Place to Eat concept.”
