Including John Lewis enjoying a bumper week as sales lift 6.2% year on year.
The Source rounds up some of the key retail stories of the week.
John Lewis enjoyed a 6.2% boost in sales year on year to £83.7 million in the week to August 26. Fashion sales were a big driver – up 12.8% – as John Lewis price matched a competitor’s event. Womenswear and menswear both saw double digit growth, while women’s accessories increased 11.4%. Elsewhere, beauty, well-being and leisure was up 22% and electricals and home technology increased 8.2%. However, home sales dipped 2.3% overall.
Fashion retailer Pep&Co has closed 20 of its standalone stores, replacing the majority with shop-in-shops in Poundland outlets. Chief executive Adrian Mountford told Retail Week that the strategy was driving incremental revenue growth in Poundland and the shop-in-shops have exceeded all expectations.
The Co-op is apparently close to making an offer for wholesaler and convenience store group Nisa. The move follows Sainsbury’s dropping its interest after competition concerns.
Consumer confidence increased in August, according to the GfK index. The increase – to -10 overall in August – comes after a fall to post-Brexit levels in July. However, GfK pointed out that consumer confidence still had a lot of ground to regain and was down three points year on year.
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