• Total retail sales up 1%
  • Burberry returned to growth in key regions including mainland China
  • Like-for-likes remain unchanged

Fashion brand Burberry’s total retail sales advanced over the Christmas period, driven by gains in mobile revenue and overseas growth.

The luxury fashion retailer recorded a 1% rise in total retail sales to £603m in the three months to December 31.

Burberry said its like-for-like sales, which were unchanged year on year, were “below internal assumptions”, despite stabilising after a 4% drop in the previous quarter.

Chief executive Christopher Bailey said: “In a tougher environment than expected, our sustained focus on growth and cost control drove a number of positive results over the quarter, including the outperformance of digital and a return to growth in mainland China.”

The retailer’s return to growth in mainland China and Korea was offset by a 20% drop in like-for-likes in Hong Kong and sales were down across Asia overall.

Mobile sales were up year on year and boosted online revenue. The channel now represents “the majority of traffic” to Burberry’s website, according to the retailer.

Burberry reported a “challenging” quarter in the UK and France as growth in Spain, Italy and Germany drove sales in its European business.

The retailer expects new stores “to contribute low single-digit percentage growth” to its full-year sales.

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