French luxury group PPR, which owns retailers including Fnac and Gucci, reported sales up 5.1 per cent sales to €4.68 billion in its second quarter.

Growth was driven by the Gucci Group subsidiary, which posted a 16 per cent increase in like-for-like sales. The luxury brand did particularly well in China, with sales soaring 83 per cent against the same period last year. Sales in North America and Europe climbed 10 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. The group opened 10 stores in the period.

Other subsidiaries also weathered the financial storms well. Entertainment retailer Fnac enjoyed like-for-like sales growth of 3.1 per cent in the same period thanks to accelerating online sales and an increase in sales of technology products. Fnac also recorded strong sales increases outside France, particularly in Italy, Switzerland and Brazil.

At Redcats, PPR’s mail order arm, sales dropped 3.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis. PPR attributed the decline to the unfavourable environment, particularly in apparel. A PPR spokesman said it “nevertheless showed solid resilience thanks to intensified promotional activities”.

PPR chairman Francois-Henri Pinault said: “PPR’s activity in the second quarter improved at a steady pace. The excellent performance of our luxury goods activities illustrates the strength of our brand portfolio, driven by the outstanding performance of the Gucci brand.”

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