Waitrose piles on pressure with 6.1% increase in sales

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The chain, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, said sales in the five weeks to 5 January were ahead 6.1%, a performance that is likely to put Marks & Spencer and J Sainsbury in the shade.

M&S, which reports tomorrow, and Sainsbury's, whose figures are out on Thursday, are widely expected to have missed internal targets for sales growth, holding steady at best.

Waitrose usually emerges as the costliest of the supermarkets, with Asda the cheapest, but it has won a reputation for quality food.

John Lewis Partnership chairman Charlie Mayfield said Waitrose's performance was pleasing, "particularly in the context of the demanding conditions we faced".

Sales at John Lewis itself rose 6.2% over the period.

Meanwhile, digital cameras group Jessops tried to put a brave face on sales down 4.7% in the 14 weeks from 1 October. Chairman David Adams said: "We were prepared for a tough Christmas trading environment, and managed the business accordingly. Much work remains to be done to return the business to sustainable profitability."

Figures today from the British Retail Consortium show the shopping industry had its worst Christmas for three years. The BRC called for immediate interest rate cuts, and warned of a "very challenging firsthalf of 2008".

But there were positive signs from shoes and womenswear group Alexon, which said profits for the year will be at the top end of expectations thanks to a boost in sales straight after Christmas.