Salvatore Ferragamo, the Italian luxury group that made shoes for Marilyn Monroe and handbags for Margaret Thatcher, ended 2014 on a high, the company’s boss said.

Speaking at the Milan stock exchange, where Ferragamo was showing its autumn/winter 2015 menswear collection, chief executive Michele Norsa said December sales were “even better than our expectations”.

“We closed 2014, which was an eventful year with a lot of volatility, with a very strong end of the year,” he said, according to Reuters.

The Florentine fashion house, known for its classic sensibility, saw a 4.6% increase in sales in the first nine months of 2014 to €957m (£730m).

Norsa dismissed concerns about deflation in the eurozone, where prices fell in December for the first time in five years. “What is more important is consumer confidence,” he said.

Last week, Swiss luxury goods group Richemont revealed that a crackdown on corruption in China and pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong had dampened demand for its watches and jewellery. But Ferragamo has been insulated from slowing demand in China by its large presence in global airports, as more travellers go shopping to kill time. Norsa said he expected that travel retail would continue to drive growth in 2015.