Hotter shoes has said it is "surprised" about the recent decline in fashion retail sales after announcing a bumper period for the expanding firm.
The Skelmersdale-based brand, whose parent company is due to float on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market later this year, has said its sales rose despite an overall decline in º£½ÇÊÓÆµ retail and the weakest performance since shops reopened in April, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes dropped by 2.5% between June and July 2021.
READ MORE: Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett reveals how he makes $1.2m a year from his Diary of a CEO podcast
Food store sales slipped by 1.5% for the month, while non-food stores, such as fashion chains, reported a 4.4% decline in volumes.
Hotter shoes, which has more than four million customers worldwide, said sales for July increased 24% against June.
The update comes after its owner, Electra Private Equity, announced last week that in the first six months of its financial year to January 2022 Hotter's º£½ÇÊÓÆµ direct to consumer sales have grown 39% compared to the same period in 2020.
Also over the same time, its overall sales growth has been 25% while its gross margin was 63%, up from 53%.
Latest Lancashire Business News
Most Read
Victoria Betts, chief commercial officer at Hotter Shoes, said: "We are surprised by the ONS announcement of a 4.4% decline in fashion retail sales.
"As one of the largest shoe retailers in the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ, we have seen increased sales across both our online and physical stores in July, up 24% on June.
Don't miss a thing - sign up for your free North West newsletter - and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the North West- and you can stay in touch with all the latest news from Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive daily morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
For all the latest stories, views, polls and more - and the news as it breaks - .
"Year on year, our sales are up 82%, and our ecommerce sales alone have increased 91%. We have experienced the same positivity in our international markets, including a 7% increase across our US sales.
"We have seen significant changes in consumer shopping habits throughout the past year, and our ecommerce site continues to perform strongly with online sales unwavering, despite the reopening of physical stores.
Have you followed our yet? Click for the latest updates, stories and analysis from across the region.
"In addition, we have experienced strong activity surrounding our end of season sales, which we launched later than most competitors and as such, enabled us to compete not only on our superior quality, but price."