Young menswear retailer Blue Inc is to accelerate its store opening programme this year after revealing credit crunch-defying Christmas sales

Blue Inc managing director Steven Cohen said the retailer hoped to open 20 stores this year and the same number in 2009. The retailer has firmed up its growth credentials by appointing a new property agent, Brasier Harris, to help it search for suitable locations.

Last year, Blue Inc opened 14 stores, giving it a total of 48 UK shops. It only had 28 stores when it was bought by Marlow Retail in 2006.

All new stores will feature the latest store format, which was designed by Deluxe Vision and brought in last summer. Blue Inc will also upgrade about 25 per cent of its existing shops this year.

Cohen said Blue Inc had increased its like-for-like sales by 7 per cent in December. He said: “The lead up to Christmas saw further positive like-for-like growth, in what was generally a challenging climate. Our new stores performed better than expected and the existing stores were assisted by strong promotional activity and popular ranges introduced by our design and buying teams.”

Cohen added that most of Blue Inc’s customer demographic does not appear to have been adversely affected by the credit crunch. “Our customers are younger and we get lots of students who are less exposed to credit or property markets.”

In the year to December 31, 2007, the retailer is expected to report sales of£30 million.