John Lewis picks insider Paula Nickolds to head department stores

LONDON (Reuters) - British retailer John Lewis [JLP.UL] on Tuesday picked insider Paula Nickolds as the new managing director of its department stores.

Nickolds joined the employee-owned company as a graduate trainee in 1994 and was most recently commercial director of the group's 48 department stores, the company said.

She will replace Andy Street, who leaves on Friday to contest the election of the mayor of the West Midlands, a region of central England, for the ruling Conservative Party.

Nickolds will take up the position in January after the busy Christmas trading period, John Lewis said.

Separately John Lewis, which also owns the Waitrose supermarket chain, gave the following sales figures for the latest week compared with a year earlier.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle, Editing by Sarah Young)