LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - John Lewis Partnership, the employee-owned group seen as a barometer of British retail spending, reported a fall in sales at its department stores for the fourteenth week in a row, blaming recent sunny weather.
Britain's biggest department store group by sales, which runs 27 outlets across the UK, said on Friday sales at these shops fell 5.1 percent year-on-year to 44.39 million pounds ($65.87 million)in the week ended April 25.
Sales of home-related goods plunged 12 percent, while sales of electricals and home technology were down 5.6 percent. Clothing sales bucked the trend, rising 3 percent.
IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer described the figures as "a reality check on the state of consumer spending" following recent signs of improvement.
On Tuesday, the Confederation of British Industry reported the biggest rise in retail sales in more than a year, though it said the data might be distorted by the timing of Easter.
John Lewis said sales at its upmarket Waitrose food stores rose 6.1 percent to 81.45 million pounds in the week ended April 25, helped by the good weather.
Group sales were up 1.9 percent. ($1=.6739 Pound) (Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)