Peter Jones sales dip 21 per cent in pre-Christmas slump

SHOPPING bell-wether Peter Jones reported an extraordinary slump in sales today as consumer spending plummeted in London's John Lewis stores.

Sales were down a massive 21.4 per cent at Peter Jones in Sloane Square last week.

The news came as business leaders warned of a sales meltdown this Christmas. The high street is braced for its toughest December in years, a CBI survey of retailers warned.

John Lewis is judged to be an accurate measure of general consumer confidence and the state of the economy.

With its Bluewater store reporting sales down 19.8 per cent, Kingston down 17.7 per cent, Brent Cross down 11.6 per cent and Oxford Street down 8.2 per cent, it was an ominous performance for the capital.

John Lewis managing director Andy Street said that heavy discounting and one-off sales at the likes of Marks & Spencer and Debenhams showed "most retailers were finding themselves in tough times".

Andy Clarke of the CBI said: "Christmas is going to be extremely tough with retailers having to work harder than ever to keep the tills ringing."