SPEAKING to the Quiz executive team before Christmas, there was no lack of positivity when discussing the forthcoming festive sales period.

Coming off the back of a strong first half which saw sales climb 35 per cent to £56m, Quiz was preparing for a merry Christmas.

For customers browsing the group’s website or the racks in its 70 stores and 148 concessions in the UK, the only difference between the Quiz of 2016 and 2017 is the range of clothes available, but for management there is a more significant change in the business.

And in welcome news for shareholders who invested £102m in the company’s initial public offering, Quiz has sailed through its first Christmas as a listed business.

With the 31 per cent growth noted in yesterday’s trading update, there are a couple of important aspects to examine.

While sales in UK stores were up 11.6 per cent, it was online sales (up a huge 119 per cent) and international (47 per cent) that powered the growth.

This comes as the British Retail Consortium reported the worst trading quarter for non-food retail since March 2009.

Quiz’s plan to become an international brand may reflect a long-held ambition of founder Tarak Ramzan, but what it also does is, to some degree, insulate the company from the expected downturn on the UK high street.

Quiz is not the only retailer to look overseas to maintain growth levels. For those who haven’t, the year will be all the more challenging.