Clear run

John Lewis took a near-record figure on the first day of Clearance: so how did that look in branches?

Solihull's first customer arrived outside at 3.30am, while Reading and Leicester reported 200-plus customers queuing by the time their doors opened at 8am.

Kingston Partners had never seen 'such volumes of footfall' while Watford's tills were '40 customers deep - but very happy' at one point.

Some customers put their best feet forward to bag the best bargains. Sheffield had customers running through the shop when the doors opened - 'something we haven't seen for a while!' - while Milton Keynes reveals: 'Hundreds of customers ran in as soon as the shutters were raised.'

Norwich tackled its first Clearance since the completion of its £7m refurbishment. 'Our expanded shop enabled us to cope comfortably with the level of trade,' says General Manager Richard Marks, revealing that its busiest hour ever was between 11am and noon.

John Lewis Brent Cross: Appy shopping

Brent Cross is one of just seven branches to welcome virtual window displays, to enable shoppers to make purchases as part of the division's online post Christmas Clearance sale.

Customers passing John Lewis Brent Cross, Peter Jones, Oxford Street, Milton Keynes, Reading, Liverpool and Edinburgh can now scan QR (Quick Response) codes displayed in the shops' windows on their iPhones.

Once the QR code has been scanned, customers will then be directed to johnlewis.com to finalise their purchases.

'With our Clearance in store, starting a day later than the rest of the Shopping Centre, the initiative allowed us to capitalise on the Shopping Centre's footfall on Boxing Day,' explained Operations Manager Selling, Home Paul Rutherford. 'With customers able to scan the QR code it gives them immediate access to the product on johnlewis.com.'

Head of Multi-Channel Simon Russell said: 'The window displays form part of our co-ordinated multi-channel approach which includes the roll-out of free WiFi to our shops, the launch of our iPhone app and the extension of Click & Collect which is now available from 129 John Lewis and Waitrose shops.'

John Lewis Sheffield: Coming together for Christmas

John Lewis Sheffield's work in the community had made a difference during the festive season.

The Community Liaison team, Liz Hogan and Elle Bradley-Cox, donated toiletry gifts to the Catch 22 charity, which helps young people get their lives back on track, just before Christmas.

And some of last year's Christmas scheme was given to Sheffield's Children's Hospital to help brighten up its main entrance this year.

Liz said: 'Some of the service users at Catch 22 saved their gifts for Christmas Day, but some opened them at their party and were really pleased with them.'

Elle added: 'The donation brightened up the entrance at the Children's Hospital in time for Christmas.'

Every week JLP e-zine brings you stories from around our shops. This week's stories are by Katy Perceval, Tara Lyons and John Heppenstall.