Record hot spell casts chill over high street
The high street is suffering a hot weather hangover after the Indian summer kept people away from the shops.
John Lewis blamed last week's record-breaking heatwave for one of its biggest slumps in sales.
The department store chain said the warm weather was the main reason for a 7.9 per cent drop in takings in the week to October 1 when temperatures soared to 29C.
Other chains thought to have been hit include Next and Marks & Spencer. Fashion chain Ted Baker also said its last few weeks of trading "have been affected by unseasonably warm weather".
Lesley Ballantyne, director of operational development at John Lewis, said: "Customers were not in the mood to shop for autumnal clothing and inevitably trade was slower as a result."
The figures will deepen City fears that some already struggling retailers may be pushed over the edge at the start of the key autumn season.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at forecaster IHS Global Insight, said: "Even allowing for footfall being hit by the very good weather, the sharp drop in John Lewis fuels concern that consumers are reining in their
spending."
However, the heatwave was not bad news for everybody. Waitrose said its sales were up almost 10 per cent and demand for ice cream was up by 62 per cent.
