Valentine's Day sees sales surge at John Lewis

Love was certainly in the air for UK department store group John Lewis, who saw its weekly sales to February 13 surge 7 percent in the run-up to Valentine's Day, hitting 74.46 million pounds.

Fashion sales were up 2.9 percent on last year, with the biggest growth coming from Women's Accessories and Beauty Wellbeing & Leisure.

"Unsurprisingly, these are high gifting areas for Valentine's Day, driven by Beauty Counters up 4.5 percent on the year, and Handbags, up 6.4 percent" noted operations director Dino Rocos.

Home sales were also up 3.1 percent on last year, “with customers reacting well to big ticket products”, said Rocos.

“The week ahead brings with it half term and some colder weather, these two elements combined with strong 'newness' in the assortment should position us well,” added Rocos.

Image:Window display John Lewis