Christmas sales figures boost Burberry shares

Upmarket clothing retailer Burberry saw shares surge today after customers snapped up its scarves, ties and raincoats over Christmas.

The group, which is majority owned by Argos owner GUS, said sales from its shops for the three months to the end of December rose 32%, with like-for-like sales up 16%.

Mike Metcalf, chief operating officer, said items which sold well included cashmere scarves, watches, ties, duffle coats and raincoats, as well as babywear.

“Overall, I think our revenue performance was pretty outstanding in a relatively difficult market. All parts of our business we think performed well,” he said.

He added sales of products like hats, scarves and coats were boosted by the cold and wet weather.

And post-Christmas, customers were buying products for early holidays.

However, Mr Metcalf said that the market for luxury goods could be affected if there were a downturn in travel. The travel market is seen as particularly vulnerable in the event of war with Iraq.

“There is great uncertainty hanging over the luxury goods industry, which is already having its effect in terms of travel patterns,” he said.

Burberry’s sales were around 25% exposed to travel flows, he went on, but added he saw the firm “less exposed than others”.

Analysts had expected Burberry to have proved resilient over Christmas, and the update pleased investors, with shares jumping 8% to 233.75p.

Burberry, famous for its check design, has been revived by chief executive Rose Marie Bravo, who raised the profile of the brand by bringing in supermodel Kate Moss to model the look.

Last year GUS capitalised on the brand’s success by floating a minority of the group on the London Stock Exchange.