Snow storm confuses the High Street

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated: 02:41 EST, 6 January 2011

The big freeze has had a dramatically different effect on two of Britain's biggest High Street retailers.

Middle England's favourite department store chain John Lewis beat the wintry conditions to reveal a 7.6% hike in sales.

But it was a different story for fashion giant Next, which was the latest to blame heavy snow for the disappointing Christmas trading figures.

The UK's second largest clothing retailer reckons £22m of sales were lost as a result of the weather.

Chief executive Lord Wolfson said retail sales 'were significantly affected' by 'extreme weather conditions' as shoppers stayed at home.

But the Tory peer also admitted trading had been hit by fierce competition from rivals who had started discounting early.

The group (up 88p to 2103p) saw underlying sales down 6.1% for the six months to 24 December but said it remained on track to improve profits in the current financial year.

Wolfson also held his hands up to a stock problem that left shelves bare of some of Next's best-selling items, but he said overall it had been a good Christmas.

The Tory peer also warned price hikes from increased VAT and rising raw material costs would see shoppers spending less during 2011.

At John Lewis the big freeze boosted online sales by 42%, helping it post £545m of revenues in the five weeks to 1 January.

Its electricals department was the best-performing over Christmas, with sales up 14.4%, while fashion sales rose 8.7%.

Sister firm Waitrose posted record-beating underlying Christmas sales, up 5.4% for December up until the 23rd. It also announced plans to open 39 new shops in 2011 creating 3,000 jobs.