By James Davey
MILTON KEYNES, England (Reuters) - Sales of "big ticket" items such as furniture have held up since Britain's vote to leave the European Union, indicating a relatively robust consumer economy, the head of its biggest department store group John Lewis [JLPLC.UL] said on Tuesday.
Though Britain's shock Brexit vote in June stunned financial markets, they have since recovered and UK consumers, who drove the country's recovery from the financial crisis, appear to have largely taken the referendum result in their stride for now, according to several surveys and indicators.
"The thing that has not happened that could have happened is a real fall off in big ticket purchases," John Lewis Managing Director Andy Street told reporters during a tour of the firm's new distribution facilities in central England.
"If you look at furniture numbers and compare them with 2008 for example, when they just fell through the floor, we're still growing trade there nicely. That's a good micro indicator that says there is relative robustness."
John Lewis' total sales have increased 0.6 percent year-on-year in the five weeks to Sept. 3.
In July, Street cautioned that sterling's depreciation against the U.S. dollar and euro following the Brexit vote could become a major issue for the firm next year.
However, he is optimistic about John Lewis' Christmas trading prospects, pointing to product innovation and its investment in distribution
"We're feeling extremely confident," he said. "We've had seven years of beating the market at Christmas. We fully expect this to be the eighth."
John Lewis opened two new national distribution centres on Tuesday at a cost of 150 million pounds, enabling faster restocking of stores and deliveries to customers.
The Magna Park 2 and 3 centres in Milton Keynes form part of John Lewis' 500 million pound, five-year investment in its online systems and distribution network.
This follows the employee-owned retailer's 100 million pound investment in its existing Magna Park site, which opened in 2009.
John Lewis said the new centres reflected its anticipation of changing shopping habits, with the percentage of orders being delivered moving from 4 percent to 47 percent in a decade.
It said the new sites had created 500 jobs, a figure that will double at peak times.
The sites will consolidate online orders for fashion and non-fashion items into one parcel for delivery. That means 850,000 fewer parcels will be delivered each year and 190,000 fewer miles will be covered by delivery vehicles.
John Lewis's 46 UK stores will now receive daily replenishment deliveries as well as Click & Collect orders.
Street, MD since 2007, declined to comment when asked about media reports that he is to apply to become Conservative Party candidate to be the West Midlands' first-ever elected mayor.
