*** Tesco Swingers Club ***

John Lewis rings in new record with Christmas sale

LONDON (Reuters) - John Lewis Partnership (LSE: LJPA.L - news) saw the first week of post-Christmas clearance at its department stores ring in a new sales record, the latest sign of robust bargain-hunting by shoppers.

The co-operative retailer, a star performer in the crucial run up to Christmas, said its sales grew 8.2 percent to 77 million pounds from December 27 to January 2.

"In keeping with the theme of tumbling records, we took more money on the first day of Clearance than we have ever taken before," Retail Operations Director Gareth Thomas said in a statement.

Sales on December 27, the first day of its clearance sales, from the 26 John Lewis department stores rose 10 percent.

"Fantastic (Xetra: FAN.DE - news) results came from linens, upholstery, lighting, vision, large electrical, men's own brands, beauty, jewellery, gifts, cookshop, china, glass and toys," Thomas said.

Shoppers surged into stores at the start of discount sales last week following an uneven run-up to Christmas. The Retail Footfall Index showed shoppers visits to stores rose 6.9 percent on Boxing Day from a year ago after weeks of reporting a falling number of store visits.

Supermarket giant Tesco (LSE: TSCO.L - news) as well as luxury goods outlets, premium grocers and online stores are expected to have made strong sales in contrast to profit warnings from middle market retailers Woolworths and HMV .

Yet economists have warned against reading too much into the flurry of bargain-hunting activity that followed the holiday, saying they do not expect a blockbuster performance from the high street while many consumers struggle with soaring household bills, higher borrowing costs and tame wage growth.

Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner, who in November predicted some general retailers could suffer their worst Christmas in 25 years, on Wednesday said sales had started strongly but it was unclear how long the momentum would last.

Anecdotal evidence suggested furniture sales were unexpectedly weak, Ratner said, indicating shoppers may be "spent up" and avoiding big ticket items.