John Lewis has published its Christmas trading statement from 17 November to 30 December.
In the statement, the UK retailers said the partnership made a 2.5% gross sales on last year’s figures, bringing the total sales up to £1.9m.
The department store’s gross sales, minus Waitrose, were up 3.6% (£1.3m) on a like-for-like basis and significantly outperformed the market by 4.5%, with Black Friday being its most successful sales day in its history.
Meanwhile, Waitrose gross sales (excluding fuel) were £928m up 1.4% and the Click & Collect sales collected from the supermarket’s stores increased by 0.9% compared to last year’s figures.
Commenting on the success of the brand, Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership said: “We traded well during the Christmas period, with gross sales in the six weeks to 30 December £1,962m, up 2.5% on last year, with 1.4% sales growth in Waitrose and 3.6% in John Lewis.
“This was due to the exceptional hard work and commitment of our partners. We focused on our differentiated product offering, attention to service and strong value proposition, underpinned by our ‘never knowingly undersold’ promise.
“The pressure on margin seen in the first half of the year has intensified because of our choice to maintain competitive prices, despite higher costs mainly due to the weaker exchange rate.
“Looking ahead to 2018/19 we expect trading to be volatile due to the economic environment and anticipate that competitive intensity will continue, driven by the structural changes taking place in the retail industry.
“We are well placed to continue building the strength of our two leading brands through these changes and will maintain our current investment plans.”
