Laura Ashley continued its return to form over Christmas, while Burberry had its best quarter since its initial public offering nearly five years ago, in a further sign that luxury retailers were the biggest festive winners.
Both retailers posted a strong jump in underlying sales yesterday and toldanalysts to upgrade their profit forecasts.
Laura Ashley, which looks to have closed the door on a turbulent few years, said like-for-like sales in the 50 weeks to January 13 rose by 8.7 per cent. Total sales grew from all four of its categories: home accessories, decoration, furniture and fashion.
The group opened 17 shops during the year and closed 10.
Burberry, which has delved into its archives to replace its ubiquitous check, beat forecasts with a 25 per cent rise in underlying revenues to £206 million ($584 million) during its third quarter.
The best performance came from its retail arm on the back of a strong collection of "seasonless" outerwear, which meant it did not suffer from the warm winter, according to Stacey Cartwright, the finance director. Burberry said it would take a £5.2 million hit to cover the cost of redundancies in shutting its Welsh factory.
