CONFIDENCE

John Lewis Partnership booked a rise in sales at both of its core businesses over Christmas but the staff-owned group again warned that profits will be dragged down by attempts to remain competitive against its rivals.

The department store chain – which has Scottish sites in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow – saw like-for-like sales grow 3.1 per cent in the six weeks to 30 December, while its sister supermarket operation Waitrose booked a comparable sales rise of 1.5 per cent.

But chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield said that the John Lewis commitment to being “never knowingly undersold” – the chain’s price matching promise – alongside rising costs linked to the Brexit-hit pound, would dent full-year profits.

“We traded well during the Christmas period,” he noted. “Thiswasduetotheexceptionalhardworkandcommitment of our partners. We focused on our differentiated product offering, attention to service and strong value proposition, underpinned by our never

0 Department store has commitment to being ‘never knowingly undersold’

SIR CHARLIE MAYFIELD knowingly undersold promise.”

But he warned: “The pressure on margin seen in the first half of the year has intensified because of our choice to maintain competitive prices, despite higher costs mainly due to the weaker exchange rate. This will negatively affect full-year financial results as indicated previously.”

The fall in the value of the pound following the EU referendum has driven up costs for businesses and destroyed consumer confidence, hammering retailers in particular.

Mayfield said that he expects trading to be “volatile” this year due to the economic environment and structural changes taking place in the retail industry.

In better news, the group said the Black Friday week was the busiest in its history and included a record hour for online trade.

At Waitrose, the firm said it created a “real festive buzz” as it launched 500 additional products, such as Heston

“We are well placed to continue building the strength of our two leadingbrandsthrough these changes and will maintain our current investment plans.”