John Lewis feels pinch as shoppers cut back - Business - Evening Standard
       

John Lewis feels pinch as shoppers cut back

Sales at John Lewis, one of the most highly regarded retailers, fell off a cliff last week as shoppers fretted about the credit crunch.

Sales were down 8.3% at its department stores last week, with tourist-heavy Oxford Street the only outlet in the country up on a year ago.

"A combination of unseasonably sunny, warm weather and a huge amount of coverage of the global economic situation added together to give a very tough trading week," it said in a statement.

Peter Jones in the so-called "bonus belt" of City workers in Chelsea was down 12.8%, but that was nothing compared with shops further afield like Southampton and Cribbs Causeway, which fell by a quarter.

Other London area sites suffered badly too, with Kingston off 17%, Bluewater 13% down and Brent Cross 12% lower than a year ago.

Sales also fell 0.7% at John Lewis's Waitrose supermarkets.

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