Morning:
14°c
Bonfire night saw demand for fireworks rocket by a quarter year-on-year at John Lewis, helping the department store chain post yet another weekly sales rise, this time up 8% on last year's figures.
The retailer claimed the current weather is “much milder than it would ideally like”, but shoppers still splashed out on more big-ticket purchases, with televisions, beds and furniture posting “impressive increases” on the same time last year.
The chain's Bluewater store was a top performer, with till takings up 12.2%.
Sister supermarket chain Waitrose said that shoppers seem to have a sweeter tooth than last year, with demand for toffee apples up 90%.
Overall sales across both retailers gained 9.1% to £146.83 million.
