Last week turned out to be the best of the half year so far for department store group John Lewis which saw sales up 8.6 per cent (including VAT) on a year ago.

The week to June 18 was also better for electricals and home technology products, too, which were up 4.5 per cent led by a 21 per cent rise in sales of small appliances.

Nat Wakely, director of selling operations for John Lewis Region A added that major appliances missed double digit increases by just a whisker and that excellent results, too, were notched up by audio and IT products.

However, he also pointed out that consumer electronics found the going tougher, largely down to TV products.

Online sales at johnlewis.com – which chose the week to launch its website internationally - also reported the best growth of the half year with an increase of 45.6 per cent.