SALES at John Lewis Partnership soared 18.1% to £185.41 million in the run up to the Diamond Jubilee but income in Scotland's two biggest cities dipped.

The retailer's John Lewis department stores saw subdued activity in the first few days of last week but the final three days to June 2 resulted in a 27% jump in sales.

That helped the division to an overall 15% increase and it reported £62.39m for the seven days.

The strongest growth came from the furniture buying group, which was up 121%, with the outdoor living section also benefiting as people set themselves up for the extended holiday.

Fashion, electricals and appliances, accessories and beauty, bedding and gifts were also highlighted as strong performing areas, while online increased by 53.6%.

However there was no pre-Jubilee bounce in Glasgow, which dropped 6.1% to leave it 0.9% down on last year.

There was a similarly gloomy outcome in Edinburgh, where sales dipped 2%, leaving it 1.3% down year-on-year.

With an increase of 8.6% Aberdeen was the only Scottish store to register growth and that performance kept it 0.1% ahead of sales from 2011. Simon Williams, head of corporate sales at John Lewis, said trading had continued to be buoyant across the group.

He said: "Despite the bank holiday weather disappointing those who had looked forward to a day or two in the garden, this has meant a stronger start to this week than might otherwise have been expected and as such there is every reason to be optimistic."

At the Waitrose food stores sales were up 19.8% to £123.01m, which is the largest trading week in the brand's history outside of Christmas and Easter.

Sales of English wine had a record seven days and were up 95%, with ciders growing 76% and ales 25%.

Snack foods such as Melton Mowbray pork pies, Scotch eggs and sausage rolls were all up by more than 70%, while strawberries increased 65% and cream by 49%.

Rupert Thomas, marketing director at Waitrose, said: "The prospect of a four-day-long weekend and a wonderful focus for celebration spurred shoppers into action.

"The performance was helped in part by the 25% off promotion on wine and Champagne, but clearly festivities for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee were the main driver, as sales excluding wine were 18.1% higher than last year."