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		</div><p>A surge in shoppers looking for last-minute gifts helped lift sales at John Lewis over the festive period as the retailer gave the first glimpse of how trading fared over Christmas.</p>
<p>In the week to December 29, sales at the department store chain were up 4.5%, driven by a 103% increase in gift food purchases.</p>
<p>The John Lewis gifts, cooking and dining segment also had a stellar week, with sales up 25%.</p>
<p>The retailer said it was boosted by shoppers buying last-minute Christmas presents, adding that it experienced “very strong sales on Christmas Eve and a confident start to clearance sales both online and in shops”.</p>
<p>Fashion sales grew 10.7%, with a strong performance in women’s cashmere, but home sales were down 2.3%. Figures for the week to December 22 show that John Lewis sales were up 4.2%.</p>
<p>Retail analyst Nick Bubb calculated that like-for-like sales were up 2% over the two-week period, but cautioned that this would have been “driven by discounting”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, sales at sister company Waitrose rose 19.2% last week, helped by a surge in Christmas dinner shopping.</p>
<p>However, in the week prior, to 22 December, sales slumped 11.7%, although the group cautioned that the figures were “heavily distorted” by the timing of Christmas and New Year and the numbers are in line with expectations.</p>
<p>John Lewis said that a more meaningful picture of its performance for the six weeks to December 29 will be released on January 10.</p>
<p>The figures come ahead of what is expected to be another tough year for department store chains following a disastrous 2018 that saw House of Fraser collapse and Debenhams issue a string of profit warnings.</p>
<p>The John Lewis Partnership itself revealed in September a 98.8% crash in half year profits as it battles against “challenging times” and the most promotional market for nearly a decade.</p>
<p>Retailers across the board have been battling the rise of online shopping, higher costs and plummeting consumer confidence as shoppers rein in spending amid Brexit uncertainty.</p>
<p>Notable high street names such as Poundworld, ToysRUs and Maplin went bust in 2018, while the likes of Marks &; Spencer announced plans to shutter stores.</p>
<p>Several others, including Superdry, Carpetright and Card Factory, have issued profit warnings.</p>
<p>Among the bevvy of firms reporting festive figures over the coming weeks are Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Ted Baker, Tesco, Marks &; Spencer, Debenhams and Dixons Carphone.</p>
<p>Next will kick off the festive reporting season proper with its results on Thursday.</p>
<p> ;</p>
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