DIYWEEK.net

The star of John Lewis' 2012 Christmas advert 'The Journey' has embarked on a UK-wide tour, sparking a massive Twitter following as users post sightings of the now-famous snowman.
As part of the retailer's Christmas marketing campaign, the snowman began his tour last Friday in Westminster, London, and has since been spotted at St Pancras International train station, Lake Windermere, Newcastle, Manchester and even a canal boat in Bristol. Today he is appearing in a radio DJ's garden before he joins branches in their Countdown to Christmas weekend, starting tomorrow.

Communications manager Laura Chilvers said: "Since starting the #snowmanjourney last Friday, the hashtag has been used nearly 600 times." John Lewis has seen a 11.4% increase in sales since this time last year, helped along by the resounding success of its Christmas ad campaign, which is nudging 2m hits on YouTube and more than 10m on the John Lewis Retail website. A book based on the advert is also being launched across John Lewis stores in the run up to Christmas.

It comes as the John Lewis Partnership unveiled a multi-million pound Waitrose Food & Home store in Bath. The existing 16,000 sq ft city branch was transformed into a 40,000 sq ft multi-channel offering. The home department covers 8,000 sq ft of the space, and ranges include audio, vision, childrenswear, bedding and homewares.

Head of store development Anthony Wysome said: "It's a privilege to be allowed to extend a store as successful as Bath and that gives us every incentive to work as hard as we can to do it brilliantly.

"The extra space gives us the chance to introduce Bath customers to our full food offer, add a really credible 'home' assortment and, vitally, create a great environment in which to shop."

· More than 250 DIYWeek.net users have taken part in a poll pitting John Lewis' snowman ad against B&Q's equally heart-warming Christmas offering. The two ads have been neck in neck since the poll's launch, with B&Q just gaining the edge in recent days.