Sales hot up at House of Fraser despite big freeze

The group, which has 61 stores in the UK and Ireland, said sales for the five weeks to January 8 were up 8.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis, helped by the continued success of its relaunched 1960s fashion label Biba.

It said high street disruption due to the snow knocked an unspecified amount from sales but that for the first time website revenues outstripped the performance of any individual store during the peak period.

This week some of the UK's largest retailers including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Debenhams, and Sainsbury's will report their Christmas sales figures.

HMV, Mothercare, Clinton Cards, jeweller Theo Fennell and fashion group Alexon have already issued profits warnings due to the weather, while Next estimated the snow cost it 22m in lost sales as customers stayed at home.

However, other retailers such as John Lewis and Majestic Wine have proved that it was still possible to deliver strong sales.

House of Fraser chairman Don McCarthy described the company's festive performance as outstanding and said it reflected recent investment in the chain's own brands, as well as in technology, its stores and workforce.

He added: "I am confident that the business will deliver its plans for the remainder of the financial year, and we are well placed to continue to grow during 2011."

House brands, including the recently introduced Biba, Pied a Terre, and Label Lab, as well as established brands such as Linea, Kenneth Cole and Episode saw sales growth of more than 50 per cent over the Christmas period.

Online sales were up by 120 per cent after the company increased the range of products on offer and enabled shoppers to collect their purchases in store.

The improvement in sales was achieved without any impact on margins.

The performance of House of Fraser, which has stores in Leeds, Sheffield and Hull, will focus attention on tomorrow's update from Marks & Spencer, which is expected to report a two per cent rise in like-for-like sales.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank estimated M&S may have lost up to 70m in sales because its older customer base was less likely to have ventured out in the treacherous conditions.