Discount fashion retailer Matalan showed signs of a sales rally today after trading figures picked up over the festive period.
Matalan returned to more usual growth levels with a 9.2% increase in like-for-like business during the six weeks to January 5.
The update comes after Matalan disappointed the City in October with a trading statement showing like-for-like sales growth had dipped to 5.2% from the 10% seen earlier in the year.
The latest figures from the West Lancashire-based firm follow a 16.3% hike last Christmas and mean like-for-like sales since August are now 6.9% ahead.
However, Matalan said the rally had been accompanied by a slight fall in gross margins after it carried out higher levels of discounting.
The company blamed the recent like-for-like sales drop on the impact of opening 16 stores in areas where it already has outlets.
Today's figures show that overall sales, including those from new stores, rose 31.7% during the Christmas period.
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