TABLE-UK's John Lewis weekly dept store sales down 4.3 pct

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - British retailer John Lewis
Partnership [JLP.UL] on Friday gave the following sales figures
for the latest week compared to a year earlier.

Week to May 10 15 wks to May 10

Department stores -4.3 pct 2.6 pct

Waitrose food group 7.8 pct 6.4 pct

Total sales 2.9 pct 4.9 pct

"We always knew the first really hot week would inevitably
cause a dip in sales, and so it did. Not surprisingly our
customers enjoyed the sunshine, leaving footfall well down in
our shops. Comparisons against last year were even tougher as
the equivalent week was rainy, causing a sudden lift in the
figures against us," John Lewis said on its Web site.

(Reporting by Dan Lalor)