Moz helps lift John Lewis

Sales at John Lewis grew over Christmas but the partnership warned profits will be hit by its attempts to stay competitive.

The department store, whose Christmas ad featured Moz the Monster, left, saw like-for-like sales grow 3.1% in the six weeks to December 30, while Waitrose saw a comparable sales rise of 1.5%.

However, chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield said the chain’s price matching promise and soaring costs will dent full-year profits.