The rise and rise of home baking helped boost 2012 sales at Lakeland 4% to £157.4m.
However, pre-tax profits at the kitchenware and home solutions chain dropped 14% from £7.2m to £6.2m as its programme of new store openings and refurbishments continued. Lakeland invested some £5m into capital projects over the year.

Lakeland now has 65 stores across the UK, having opened five new stores this year, and the business has also developed in the international market with nine stores in Asia, a number it plans to double.

It also sells from catalogues and its website. In 2012, telephone calls into its call centre fell by 11% as orders migrated online. This year has also seen the company launch a website in Germany.

As Lakeland's director of buying, Matthew Canwell, told a BHETA forum last month, anything to do with baking and making - from winemaking and cheesemaking to sausage and burger preparation - are stand-out categories for Lakeland at the moment, and a trend towards home-made gifts has driven demand for preserving products up by 30%. The retailer has already sold half a million jam jars this year. Home organisation and cleaning are also key product areas.

Commenting on its annual results, Lakeland said: "Uncertainties still remain with regards to the UK economy and how this will impact the retail sector. However, the directors believe that growth opportunities exist and the business is well placed, with a strong balance sheet, to capitalise on these opportunities."