John Lewis stores see their profits plummet

ANY last hopes of a bright Christmas on the high street were washed away today when John Lewis admitted that even its stores are struggling.

The group is regarded as a bell-wether of the high street which means that if it is finding it hard to cope then rivals are probably faring even worse.

In the week to 8 November, sales were down 9.7 per cent on a year ago to £58 million, the eighth weekly decline in a row. Even the flagship store in Oxford Street could not escape, with sales tumbling 9.1 per cent.

Peter Jones in Sloane Square saw sales down 18.6 per cent, a fall blamed on bankers in the "bonus belt" suddenly slashing their outgoings. Nat Wakely, John Lewis's director of retail operations, said it had been "a difficult week", adding that the combination of "economic uncertainty and grim weather" was behind the fall.

Retailers hope that recent cuts in interest rates will spark a revival of consumer confidence as shoppers have more cash due to lower mortgages.

Sales at Waitrose - also part of John Lewis - were up 0.6 per cent but that is much worse than Asda and Sainsbury's which recorded a jump in sales this week as shoppers hunted for cheaper food options.