RECORD sales at its Glasgow outlet helped department store chain House of Fraser to its best ever Christmas trading period.
This follows strong sales figures from employee-owned John Lewis and a poor performance at Debenhams, which has announced the departure of finance director Simon Herrick.
House of Fraser chief executive John King said: "We are delighted with our Christmas trading and are pleased to report another record performance despite a more competitive environment.
"November trading was strong, in terms of both sales and margin growth, with a similar promotional programme.
"As we expected, the peak Christmas trading came late, however, it was the best we have ever recorded."
The performance comes at a good time for House of Fraser's shareholders, who include Ayrshire entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter, as they seek to sell the business.
House of Fraser reported a 7.3% rise in like-for-like sales for the three weeks to December 28 and an 11.9% rise in cash gross margins.
Many shoppers were still keen to visit House of Fraser's outlets in person, with sales from stores up 3% in the three-week period including a 10.6% rise in sales in its Glasgow outlet and 8.3% in Belfast.
Online sales for the three-week period were up 57.7% on last year.
Mr King said House of Fraser expects improved earnings this year. Last year, it made a loss before tax and exceptional items of £6.9m.
House of Fraser is reported to have been in talks with French department store group Galeries Lafayette over a possible sale after a decade under private ownership. It has also been considering a return to the stock market.
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