JOHN Lewis stores in London have suffered one of the biggest drops in sales in their history.

Branches at Brent Cross, Kingston, Bluewater, Oxford Street and Peter Jones in Chelsea were all hit by double-digit slumps in takings last week.

The biggest fall was at Peter Jones where sales were down 18.6 per cent on 2007. The flagship store in Oxford Street, which had been bucking the downward trend, was 12.6 per cent down.

The bleak figures are the latest evidence that the high street faces its toughest Christmas since at least the early Nineties.

Barry Matheson, John Lewis's head of selling development, said: "We are not immune from the reality of the economic crisis."

Across the John Lewis chain as a whole sales were down 14 per cent at £61.44million, £10million lower than in 2007 and £5million below 2006.

Experts believe several retail chains are at risk of collapse in the new year. Banks are thought most likely to pull the plug when retailers are flush with Christmas takings but have not yet paid suppliers. Today budget retailer Mark One was put into administration for the second time this year.

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