House of Fraser enjoys its best ever Christmas

The group, which has 62 sites including Doncaster, Grimsby, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and Skipton, said like-for-like sales leapt over seven per cent in the eight weeks to January 2.

In addition to its best ever Christmas week, Boxing Day sales jumped by 27 per cent.

The group said its in-house labels, which include Therapy, Linea, Kenneth Cole, New & Lingwood, Howick and Episode, saw an overall 33 per cent increase in sales.

Meadowhall in Sheffield was the best performing store for house brand Therapy where sales rose 86 per cent, compared to an average seven per cent increase for Therapy across the rest of the country.

House of Fraser's goal is for its house brands to make up over 30 per cent of the total sales mix.

Women's fashion accessories rose by 20 per cent and menswear rose 12 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Meadowhall was the best performing store for jewellery with sales more than doubling on the same period last year with a 117 per cent rise. Jewellery sales across the country rose by 13 per cent.

The best performing brand was Links, which rose 78 per cent, followed by Swarovski which increased by 27 per cent and silver jewellery and watches specialist Thomas Sabo, which saw a 24 per cent rise.

Chief executive John King said the improved performance reflected ongoing efforts to improve the business, such as developing the popularity of the own-brand products and store refurbishment.

"It was pleasing that we had our biggest ever Christmas week and Boxing Day, with some of our stores experiencing their strongest ever performance," he said.

Online sales rose by 91 per cent in the eight-week period, with cosmetics, knitwear and boots being the most in-demand items.

The group, which was taken private by Highland Group Holdings in 2006, said it was well ahead of its debt payment schedule.

It said its debt payments will be 130m ahead of plan by the end of January. It plans to continue the debt reduction programme in 2010 and described the overall financial position of the business as "very strong".

The group said that gross profits were also up as a result of its stronger product and pricing offer.

Despite the festive improvement, House of Fraser chairman Don McCarthy said he remained cautious about the future.

"The general outlook for retailing will be tough until the overall national economic position improves and we remain cautious for 2010," he said.

"However, we are confident the investments we have made across our portfolio since the take private will mean our customers have many reasons to visit our stores over the coming year."

The retailer was taken private by Highland Holdings in November 2006 in a 350m deal. It was backed by Icelandic retail investor Baugur, which collapsed earlier this year.

Baugur's 34 per cent stake in the retailer was then put into the hands of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

Among its house brands Linea rose 20 per cent, Howick saw a 41 per cent increase and house brand handbags rose 480 per cent.

Over the year House of Fraser bought iconic 1960s fashion brand Biba and it plans to launch two new labels this year, Label Lab and Pied-a- Terre.

Mr McCarthy said: "We will respond quickly to market developments while at the same time delivering on our strategy to introduce new and exciting premium brands at competitive prices."

High street favourite

Department store group House of Fraser has 62 locations across the UK and Ireland.

As one of the best known names on the high street, House of Fraser has served customers for more than 150 years. The company was acquired by the Highland consortium in November 2006 marking the beginning of a new chapter in its history.

With its designer brands and exclusive collections, House of Fraser aims to offer luxurious items at affordable prices. In addition to its 62 stores it also has an online operation www.houseoffraser.co.uk.

In total the company has five million square feet of selling space and annual sales in excess of 1.25bn.