John Lewis saw surge in pre and post-Xmas spending

LONDON (Reuters) - John Lewis, the employee-owned group seen as a barometer of retail spending, said on Friday sales rose at its department stores and surged at its upmarket grocery chain in the days before and after Christmas.

The group said sales at its 27 department stores were up 1.2 percent on the same period last year at 71.03 million pounds in the week ended December 27, while turnover at its Waitrose supermarkets rocketed 40.6 percent to 111.29 million.

The data backed evidence from Experian of a late surge in Christmas shopping and a strong start to clearance sales, but the market research firm joined analysts in warning the flurry of retail spending in recession-hit Britain was likely to be short-lived.

John Lewis did not publish a figure for sales in the week ended December 20, but prior to that the group had reported falling sales at its department stores for 13 straight weeks.

The country's retailers are struggling as indebted shoppers curb spending amid rising unemployment, sliding house prices and fears of a deep recession.

"The pundits who predicted it would come fast and furious in the final week were on the money," said department stores retail director Patrick Lewis on the jump in pre-Christmas spending.

The chain had previously announced that December 27 -- the first day of its clearance sale -- had produced record takings as shoppers flooded stores looking for bargains.

"The pace has kept up at the same healthy rate for the first two days of this week," Lewis said.

A 25 percent jump in fashion sales offset a 20.5 percent plunge in sales of home-related goods. Sales of electricals and home technology products were down 1.2 percent.