Luxury fashion brand Burberry has emerged as a big winner this Christmas, with wealthy Chinese shoppers driving third quarter sales growth of 13%.
Despite the gloomy economic backdrop, like-for-like sales at the British fashion house were up in the three months to the end of 2011 - and total revenues also climbed by 21% to £574m.
Demand at its flagship stores in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Las Vegas was strong, particularly from travelling luxury consumers from China and other areas in Asia.
Sales growth in China itself rose by 30% over the third quarter.
Growth in the US, however, was more subdued - at just 4% - and caused a drop in the company's share price shortly after the trading announcement.
Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts said the company had delivered "another strong performance".
She (SNP: ^SHEY - news) added: "Our investment in flagship markets and digital technology has enabled our global teams to continue to drive customer engagement, enhance retail disciplines and improve operational effectiveness, further strengthening brand momentum.
"We remain focused on executing our proven core strategies to achieve long-term sustainable growth, while staying mindful of the challenging macro environment."
Burberry's signature raincoats and leather goods contributed to half the overall growth, while knitwear, fragrances and watches also grew strongly.
The good results follow a strong Christmas performance by British fashion house Ted Baker (LSE: TED.L - news) .
:: The value end of the clothing and housewares market had reason to cheer on Tuesday too.
Discount retailer Matalan reported a 9.9% increase in like-for-like sales in the five weeks to the end of December.
But the electrical retailer Dixons, which owns Currys and PC World, did not perform so strongly.
Like-for-like sales in the three months to January 7 fell by 7% at its 640 stores in the UK.
One fifth of the company's sales are now online.
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