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John Lewis Buoyed by Strong Waitrose Sales
John Lewis may have seen profits fall by almost £20m, but the retail group said today the spending slump has not been as bad as feared.
In a busy day for retail news – with Kingfisher and French Connection also announcing half-year profits – John Lewis said profits had fallen from £86.3m to £107.3m in the six months to 1 August.
But the group was buoyed by a resurgent performance by Waitrose, with sales in the supermarket chain jumping by 7.4% to £2.2bn.
The grocer has defied analysts’ fears that it would prove too pricey to compete with budget rivals such as Lidl and Aldi.
John Lewis chairman Charlie Mayfield told the Evening Standard: ‘It is a really strong bounceback from Waitrose. We launched the ‘essentials’ range which cut prices but kept the same quality and customers loved it,’ he said.
The group, which has long been regarding as the barometer of the state of the retail sector – said the recession has proved to be shallower than expected, with trading conditions holding up well.
Mayfield said: ‘We have seen an encouraging response to the steps we have taken to reposition the Partnership to the new retail environment.’
He added trading conditions this year were likely to continue surprising on the upside, but struck a more cautious tone for next year. ‘2010 may be difficult and we foresee a slow, drawn out economic recovery,’ he warned.
John Lewis stores suffered a slow first half of the year, with earnings nearly halving to £20.9m and like-for-like sales down 4.7%.
The second half has been better, according to John Lewis, with store sales declines easing to 1.3% in the first six weeks.
A free online delivery offer has boosted website sales at Waitrose by around 77% and the supermarket’s market share is now approaching 4%.
John Lewis operates 27 department stores and 215 Waitrose supermarket outlets.
Within department stores, home sales proved the biggest drag, down 8.1%, but had improved to a 4% drop in the second quarter as confidence returned to the housing market.
Electricals and home technology remain depressed, with sales down 2.5%.
Fashion was the best performer, with a 2.2% increase in sales, and John Lewis announced earlier this week it is hoping to boost clothes sales further with a relaunched website featuring luxury brands, a £1.7m advertising campaign and a new-look in-store design for fashion.
Its online offering also saw a robust first half, with sales ahead by 11.6% to £151.5m.
The firm was founded in 1864 and has since grown into the third-largest private company in the UK. It has been one of the most successful retailers in recent years.
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Household Debt Total Drops
The reliance on personal debt fuelled the consumer and property boom of the last decade which was encouraged by banks hungry for business and profit.
Following decades when mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts and loans soared above £1trillion as the nation adopted a ‘live now, pay later’ philosophy, the personal debt has fallen for the first time on record. It wiped £600m off the amount owed to banks and other finance giants.
The fall in personal debt points to a new austerity among customers now reluctant to leave their futures and finances at the mercy of discredited financial institutions. A lot of people are getting so poor returns on their savings that they are using their spare cash to pay off debts and mortgages.
The record low interest rates of 2008 have created space for property buyers to pay off more than the minimum sums required on mortgages. Similarly, people have been reluctant to borrow and spend through credit cards, overdrafts and loans. However, the other side of this equation is the fact that the banks are rationing credit.
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