Gucci lifted fourth-quarter sales 3.4 percent to 640 million euros ($810 million), Paris-based PPR said today, beating JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s estimate of 622 million euros. Excluding currency moves and acquisitions, Gucci's sales slipped 0.8 percent, less than Citigroup's prediction of a 6 percent drop and Morgan Stanley's forecast of a 1.7 percent decline.

The brand, whose double-G logos and rockabilly fashions are designed by Frida Giannini, helped PPR report 2008 operating profit that beat analysts' estimates today, sending the shares up 7.2 percent. Sales in China, Hong Kong and Macau, where Gucci now has 33 outlets, rose 42 percent last year. The label represents 11 percent of PPR's sales and 36 percent of earnings.

"Major brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton hold up better in a downturn, as consumers reduce their buying and concentrate on the most prominent labels," said Luca Solca, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein who has an "outperform" rating on PPR shares and a price estimate of 60 euros.

Featuring a stylised illustrated heart tattoo design decorated with the iconic Gucci symbols - the horsebit and the web - this year, the product range has been expanded to include signature, as well as new, handbag styles in a variety of materials.

"I love the idea of a heart being tattooed onto the handbags," explains Gucci's creative director Frida Giannini, who has designed an exclusive annual collection in support of the charity's lifesaving initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa since 2005. "It's a permanent mark that you can wear with pride that stays with you. I think that represents very well what we are doing here. This is not a one-off programme, but rather an ongoing commitment to the incredible work that UNICEF is able to achieve. It's really our chance to give back."