International fashion giant H&M has posted recession-busting like-for-like growth of 8 per cent for April, when total sales climbed 19 per cent.

The comparable store sales advance ended eight successive months of like-for-like falls.

H&M, the world’s third biggest apparel retailer by sales behind Inditex and Gap, was said by analysts to likely have benefited from warm weather during the month, which lifted sales in important markets such as Germany.

H&M was also likely to have experienced a sales uptick as a result of the launch of a guest collection by top designer Matthew Williamson. Launched on April 23, the range sold out quickly. Williamson’s latest summer range for the retailer went into stores yesterday.

H&M said it had 1,804 shops open as of April 30, compared with 1,560 at the end of April last year.

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