John LewisDepartment store chain John Lewis saw strong growth last week as a surge of "back-to-school" shopping lifted sales of fashion and technology across the country.

The employee-owned group, which has 37 stores in the UK, said total sales were up 15.3% at £70.5 million in the week to September 1, including a 20% year-on-year increase on the bank holiday Monday.


The department store chain, which has enjoyed a decent run of sales in the last few weeks, driven by the Olympics, said the back-to-school period had lifted sales of tablets, such as iPads, while school clothing had also performed well.

The group's supermarket chain Waitrose saw sales rise 6.4% to £105.4 million in the period, similarly helped by returning students and pupils stocking up on lunchbox food, while the good weather lifted sales of barbecue meat by 29%.

John Lewis said three of its "more established" at-home stores led the way, with Poole, Croydon and Swindon all reporting in excess of 20% sales growth.

In the full-line department stores, Southampton and Reading provided the top sales, while Peterborough, Watford, Sheffield, Milton Keynes and Cambridge were at the other end of the spectrum with sales declines.

Meanwhile, the chain's website - jl.com - saw sales growth in excess of 36%.

The department store this week launched a new fashion range from British designer Alice Temperley, who founded the label Temperley in 2000.

At Waitrose, quick and easy staples such as pasta, up 11%, mince, up 17%, and meatballs, up 44%, were all in high demand.

Frozen pizzas saw a 14% surge in sales, with customers also purchasing 11% more frozen vegetables. Lunchbox favourites such as crisps and apples also saw a 13% and 19% spike in sales respectively. The sunshine also triggered a 19% rise in sales of ice creams, while drinks mixers were up more than 21%.