Menswear drives John Lewis fashion sales

Men's branded casualwear was the top performing fashion area at John Lewis last week, with sales up 16%, according to the retailer's latest figures.

In the week to October 13, 2007, sales in menswear, leisure and beauty were up 5%, against a total group sales increase of 1.1%. This was  a surprise given that the retailer said weekend sales were depressed by sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup and warm sunny weather across a large part of the country.

Womenswear sales, however, were down 3.5% during the same period.

Actual sales in the week to October 13 totalled £51.38 million, compared to £50.50m the year previous.