Strong e-business sales growth in Mainland China in the second quarter helped boost sales by 30 per cent and gross profit by 39 per cent for fashion group Giordano International.

This compares with first-quarter comparable store sales and gross profit increasing by 0.5 and 2.2 per cent respectively.

Giordano says its sales performance during its mid-year online shopping festival this month was noticeably better than second-quarter figures.

It says that the continuation of positive growth in the second quarter was a result of an improved merchandise offering, promotion activities and an early Ramadan this year.

Ramadan had a positive impact for its business in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East, contributing about 30 per cent of second-quarter group sales. However, part of Ramadan fell in the third quarter last year, while this year the entire celebration fell within the second quarter.

Giordano says its management believes these factors are likely to contribute positively toward the group’s interim results for the six months to the end of this month, which will be announced in August.