River Island has said that rising labour costs in China were making production in Britain more viable. It has increased the number of items produced at home by 50 per cent in the past 12 months and says that the changes have paid off.

Ben Lewis, the chief executive, said: “It has allowed us to get new fashion to our customers much quicker than we were able to, and as a result some of those products have become absolute bestsellers. We can get more of them and work closely with the factories.” Mr Lewis, a member of the Lewis family which controls a fortune estimated at £1.15 billion, added: “With clever design you can hold the price to something affordable.”