The chairman of the Hobbs London womenswear business says a strong performance in Scotland has played a key part in helping the company shrug off the gloom affecting retailers by achieving buoyant trading results.

Iain MacRitchie said stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh are among the top five performers for the group, which posted a 16% increase in sales in the key Christmas selling period.

Mr MacRitchie, a Scot who developed the Maxinutrition health products operation into a £160 million business, said the stores on Glasgow's Buchanan Street and on George Street in Edinburgh are out-performing most outlets of a similar size.

Glasgow ranks third while Edinburgh is fourth in a top 10 headed by the Covent Garden outlet in London's shopping heartlands. All the other top 10 stores are in London.

Hobbs has 70 standalone outlets and a further 70 concessions in department stores and the like across the UK.

"Scotland overall is very good for us," said Mr MacRitchie, adding: "Scottish customers are more regular shoppers and much more loyal."

With six stores and 10 concessions, Scotland accounts for around 10% of total sales at Hobbs, owned by the 3i private equity operation since 2004.

Asked why a firm created in London is doing so well in Scotland, Mr MacRitchie said its research showed there are a disproportionate number of shoppers in the country in customer types targeted by Hobbs. It also found that customers in the Glasgow and Edinburgh stores have greater fashion awareness and are more career orientated than the average.

The strong performance by Hobbs suggests plenty of people are still spending on clothes in Scotland.

Hobbs has achieved sustained growth while some rivals have struggled. Fashion retailers have been grappling with the downturn in spending that followed the credit crunch and ensuing economic downturn. The rise of discount chains such as Primark has posed challenges for established names.

However, Hobbs has increased sales by around 15% over the four years from January 2008 to January 2012, from £98m to £113m.

The company achieved another year of growth in the period to January 2013. It will release its latest figures next month.

Mr MacRitchie said the company's success reflects hefty investment in understanding what customers want and adapting the product range to suit.

After he was appointed by 3i to lead a review of the business in 2009, Hobbs commissioned research which involved in-depth interviews with 6000 people.

"The big finding for us was that we were doing well with existing customers but we weren't bringing new ones in," said Mr MacRitchie.

Hobbs had made the classic mistake of opening lots of stores without updating its range often enough.

The company ended up in a situation where 30% of its lines were new while 70% were repeats. "In fashion it needs to be the reverse of that," said Mr MacRitchie.

Hobbs beefed up product development to suit and introduced a multi-brand strategy under which products are sold under three names. Hobbs London is tailored workwear for the 35 to 55 age range. NW3 is more casual wear pitched at 25 year olds. Hobbs Invitation clothes are for going out in.

Noting Hobbs designs all its own products in London, Mr MacRitchie said the offer remains very focused. "You can't be all things to all women."

The company draws on data collected instore and online when updating the offering.

It has invested in boosting its online presence introducing initiatives such as delivering orders to people at their workplaces.

Online sales grew 60% in the 10 weeks to January 5. They account for 20% of all sales, which MacRitchie says is twice the retail average.

The company is using the web to build its presence in overseas markets. It sells to 50 countries from the UK.

Mr MacRitchie, who recently visited Shanghai on business, says Hobbs is considering plans to open stores in areas such as Asia to capitalise on the appeal of Western brands.