John Lewis sales take hammering

Sales at the John Lewis store at The Mall in Cribbs Causeway have plummeted for a second week in a row following the opening of Bristol's Cabot Circus.

Sales were down by 17.6 per cent compared with last year for the week ending October 11.

The previous week saw an even bigger drop of 18.7 per cent at the John Lewis store at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, while Cabot Circus notched up its millionth customer a fortnight after opening.

The figures appear to back up concerns that Bristol's revamped city centre would lead to difficulties for its out- of-town rival.

But John Lewis general manager in Bristol Lisa Williams said she was unconcerned by the downturn, and thinks it will take several months to see what is the true impact of Cabot Circus on shopping patterns in the city.

She said: "Clearly we have been anticipating a level of curiosity at Cabot Circus, it would have been silly not to. There has been such a long lead time we knew people would want to have a look.

"I think it's going to be a good few months before the novelty wears off. But we have a loyal customer base and people are coming back already. The free car park here is a big draw."

The John Lewis chain saw sales plunge 4.9 per cent across its 29 stores nationwide. The group blamed the fall on the current banking crisis. The group had enjoyed a brief respite the previous week as the launch of its Christmas range drove sales up 0.9 per cent across the department stores and Waitrose supermarkets.

But it said group-wide sales slipped back by 2.2 per cent to £122.39 million, with the unusually warm weather also partly to blame.