John Lewis smashes £100m sales mark

John Lewis has smashed the £100 million weekly sales barrier, scoring its biggest ever trading week.

The department store said that sales were up 7.7% on the previous week and reached more than £101m for the week ended December 15. This was John Lewis' second consecutive record week of trading.

John Lewis.com, the department store's internet arm, experienced a "mega Monday" with its biggest ever single day of sales of £2.8m.

John Lewis managing director Andy Street said: "It is 50 years ago to the day that the Partnership first hit a record figure of £1m in a week and it is a sign of great progress that our customers have spent over £100m with us this week. The buzz in our shops across the country is testament to both the range of product and the hard work of our staff serving customers on the ground."

Handbags and beauty were one of the strongest categories of the week, reflecting a move towards gift purchases.