ROCKET BOTTOM
Despite having Rocket Man Elton John on board, John Lewis came back down to Earth with a crash last week.
Figures from the department store chain – which hired the singer for a big bucks Christmas advert – showed sales fell 5.9% year on year, albeit after a strong Black Friday week. Fashion sales fell 1.8%, homewares were down 8.8%, and electrical and home technology dropped 7.7%.
Sales at sister chain Waitrose were 1.8% lower than the same week a year ago when, it says, there was “more widespread promotional activity”.