The John Lewis Partnership today provided a further sign that it may not be all doom and gloom on the high street by reporting “excellent” trading since the start of the month.

The privately-owned group said that sales in its department stores were up 7.5 per cent on last year in the week to September 13, led by fashion and areas such as floor coverings and fitted kitchens, which have been subdued for months.

Dan Knowles, John Lewis director of selling, added that the group’s new 220,000 sq ft store in Leicester had enjoyed an “oustanding first week”.

He said: “Positive stories come thick and fast this week and we can look back with a high degree of satisfaction on an excellent performance.”

The figures come a day after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated that the extent of the high street slowdown may have been overstated by reporting that retail sales volumes in August were up 3.3 per cent on a year ago.

Jonathan Loynes, of Capital Economics, said the ONS figures were “puzzingly strong”, given the British Retail Consortium’s gloomier surveys.

Ian Cheshire, Kingfisher's chief executive, yesterday insisted that he expected trading conditions to remain “very tough” for months.

Analysts pointed out that John Lewis has been one of the best performers on the high street for the past two years.

Last week’s figures mean that, over the past seven weeks, sales at its department stores are 3.4 per cent ahead of the same period a year ago.

In a stark contrast to the growth at John Lewis, sales at its supermarket division Waitrose rose by just 0.6 per cent in the week to September 13. Analysts believe Waitrose has been one of the big losers in the price war sparked by rivals Tesco and Asda earlier this summer.

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