Luxury accessories retailer Oroton says its comparable store sales were down eight per cent for the first 17 weeks of the 2017 financial year.

Oroton chief executive Mark Newman said this was partly because the group had strong comparable store sales in the same period a year ago.

Newman, in notes released to the ASX ahead of the company’s annual general meeting, said the strategy to focus on stand-alone retail stores was showing results, with 11 per cent like-for-like sales growth in those stores.

“At the end of FY16 we had converted 41 per cent of our first retail network into this new concept which achieves higher average sales per square metre, higher average transaction value and higher conversion rate than the old concept stores,” he said.

Newman said moving into the Christmas period that the company would begin to “cycle a less aggressive base and have a strong product offer”, with new jewellery, watch and gift ranges designed specifically for the crucial trading period.

The Gap brand has recorded lower like-for-like sales, also down eight per cent, which were attributed to a “poor October mid season sale event”.

“In the last few months, we have launched an online concession for Gap with David Jones, which gives us the ability to reach potential customers from outside of New South Wales and Victoria.”

The concessions will be a benchmark for a planned launched of a full online Gap store towards the end of FY17.

Oroton Group in September reported a 31 per cent lift in its annual net profit to $3.4 million for the 2016 financial year.

Shares in Oroton were flat at $2.35 at 1105 AEDT.