* Shipped extra product to Australia to meet demand
* Sees strong Christmas selling season, no dip in confidence
* Contrasts with subdued sales for local clothing chains (Adds quotes, background)
By Victoria Thieberger
MELBOURNE, Nov 26 (Reuters) - U.S. clothing chain Gap said its first three months of trading in Australia have been at the high end of expectations and it anticipates a strong Christmas, defying a trend of soft sales at local retailers. A senior executive told Reuters there had not been any noticeable dip in demand since a surprise interest rate hike on Nov. 2, which has dampened consumer sentiment more broadly.
Gap, which opened its first store in Melbourne in August and followed up with Sydney in October, is looking to open up to 15 stores in coming years as part of a push in Asia to offset soft sales at home.
In Melbourne, "the sales since opening have been at the high end of our business expectations", Gap's head of strategic alliances, Stefan Laban, said in an email to Reuters from London.
He said sales in the Sydney store's first month were very strong -- "way above our expectations and we had to move additional product to Australia to support both stores".
By contrast, many Australian retailers are struggling to attract customers since the November rate hike, the seventh in a year, and as the effects of government stimulus handouts fade. For details, see
Consumers are reluctant to pay full price for many goods, sparking heavy discounting at clothing chains and department stores, and a key survey found a sizeable fall in confidence of 5 percent in November.
But Laban said Gap had not experienced those headwinds.
"The lead-up to Christmas has seen strong demand from Australian consumers, especially since the launch of our second store in Sydney. We feel that we are in for a strong Christmas purchasing season and remain optimistic for 2011," he added.
Gap in Australia competes with listed clothing retailers including Country Road, Specialty Fashion and Just Group, owned by Premier.
On Friday, Premier Chairman Solomon Lew told shareholders rate rises were having "a clear and demonstrably negative effect" on already fragile consumer confidence and retail spending.
Gap's push into Australia is part of a move by global retailers to cash in on growing consumer wealth across Asia. Spanish fast-fashion icon Zara, owned by Inditex, plans to open stores here in 2011. (Editing by Mark Bendeich)