Country clothing brand Joules (LON:JOUL) defied the high street’s doom and gloom with its full year results on Thursday, doing “marginally” better than expected.

Revenues increased by 18.4 percent in the 52-week period to the 27th May, with performance starting strong and continuing on into the Christmas period.

Retail revenue increased by approximately 15.9 percent on the year before, with the group opening 15 new stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland and e-commerce sales flourished.

“Our multichannel approach and ‘buy now, wear now’ product proposition has enabled the Group to deliver a performance ahead of our initial expectations, despite the widely reported challenges in the sector,” said Colin Porter, Chief Executive Officer.

The group, famous for its colourfully printed country clothing, said pre-tax profit was likely to be “marginally” ahead of the prior year of analyst expectations of £12.6 million.

“This performance is testament to the strength and appeal of the Joules brand and our distinctive products,” Porter said.

Shares in Joules are currently up 4.79 percent at 344.75 (0921GMT).