Marks & Spencer (M&S) Fair Isle knitwear demand helped the retail giant's sales and market share increase in recent months.
In its interim management statement for the 13 weeks ending New Year's Day, the company's like-for-like UK sales were up 2.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, the latest Kantar Worldpanel Total Clothing, Footwear and Accessories report for the 12 weeks to November 1st 2010 showed its control of the related sector rose to 11.8 per cent.
According to the firm, Fair Isle knitwear and accessories were received well by shoppers, while underwear, sleepwear and footwear also performed strongly.
Chief executive of M&S Marc Bolland said: "I would like to thank all our employees, in particular the store and operations teams, for doing a wonderful job in very difficult conditions to minimise the disruption to our customers."
The retailer enlisted a host of celebrities for its Christmas advertising campaigns, including Peter Kay, Dannii Minogue, Twiggy, Caroline Quentin and Jamie Redknapp.
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