Shares in Mulberry Group (AIM:MUL) rose 5% to 110.25p after the luxury accessories group reported a strong third-quarter performance, driven by higher full-price sales during the key festive trading period.
The company said total group sales rose 5.3% in the 13 weeks to 27 December, with like-for-like retail and digital sales up 11%.
Growth came despite a heavily discounted wider retail market, reflecting a shift towards selling more products at full price rather than relying on promotions. Full-price retail sales increased 19% over the period.
Performance was broad-based across regions. In the UK, total sales rose 3.5%, with like-for-like growth of 6.5%, helped by a renewed focus on domestic customers.
Sales in the United States increased 12.7%, while Europe delivered growth of almost 15%, supported by particularly strong digital demand.
Asia Pacific sales were modestly higher overall, despite store closures, with like-for-like growth boosted by strong online trading during the November Double 11 shopping festival.
Management said the results point to early success of its turnaround strategy, which centres on simplifying the business, refreshing the brand and offering “the right product at the right price”.
The company enters the final quarter of its financial year with what it described as good momentum.