Tough stance: Ted Baker's strong performance

The British fashion brand Ted Baker has unveiled a surge in festive sales, as its decision to hold its nerve on discounting helped to protect profit margins.

Ted Baker touted a strong per-formance across its retail, wholesale and licensing arms, as well as its UK and international operations.

It has 31 shops and 141 concessions in the UK.

Retail sales rose 15.7% for the 8 weeks to January 7, driven by implied underlying growth of 8.4% and a 7.3% rise in its average retail space.

Ray Kelvin, chief executive, said: "We are not as dependent on any particular market as other [UK] retailers might be." In addition to its clothing, he cited strong sales of the brand's accessories, including glasses, shoes and perfume.

Ted Baker said its gross margins, the difference between the price at which it buys and sells products, were in line with expectations, as the brand stuck to its long-term strategy of not going on sale until Boxing Day. Panmure Gordon forecasts full-year profits of £26.6 million for the group.

Ted Baker will open a shop on New York's Fifth Avenue in the summer, as well as its first stores in Tokyo in March and one in Beijing in June.