Check it out: Men’s fashions help drive Burberry

British fashion house Burberry has allayed fears of faltering demand within luxury markets after seeing its popularity grow in the world’s top shopping cities.

Strong performances in Beijing, Hong Kong, London and Paris pushed underlying revenues up by 21 per cent in the three months to 31 December.

Retail like-for-like sales were up by 13 per cent, with comparable store growth in China up by some 30 per cent. Chief executive Angela Ahrendts pointed to investments in flagship markets and new technology as the key to the growth in sales. Some analysts said the figures were flattered by a pulling forward of wholesale orders.

Out-of-town fashion and homeware retailer Matalan said like-for-like sales in the five weeks to 31 December increased 9.9 per cent, up from 1.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 November, as customers responded well to its TV campaign featuring customers inside a giant snowglobe.