British brand John Lewis stated that sales of black sheepskin gloves are up by 300 per cent and women’s glove sales overall have risen 67 per cent year on year with sheepskin of all colours particularly popular. This is due to the current cold wave in the UK that may have seen people turning up their thermostats and driving them into stores to buy anything that will keep them warmer.
Knitwear sales have also shot up with the retailer’s Zip Neck Sweat and Boucle Jumper achieving bestseller status. Meanwhile, electric throw sales have soared by 500 per cent and thermos flask sales are up 9 per cent compared to last year too.
The heated throw has become the go-to item for those working from home as “customers battle to keep themselves warm in cost-effective ways”. And John Lewis has said that so far, it’s the first must-have item of the year with its entry-price Dreamland heated throw’s sales rising 500 per cent week on week.
Retailers are hugely dependent on the weather all year round and a raft of them have blamed the wrong kind of weather for weak sales early in the AW24 season. A warm September and October was a disaster for many.
But while the cold snap should have helped them shift heavyweight winter warmer items this week, next week could be problematic with temperatures set to soar to as much as 15 degrees Celsius in parts of the country.
