Fortnum & Mason has record-breaking Christmas Top sellers at the department store, located on London's Piccadilly, included Christmas tea towels - where sales jumped 119pc - and musical biscuit tins, whose sales leapt 85pc. Ewan Venters, chief executive of F&M, said: "We had a splendid Christmas - the best in our long history for sales but also in terms of the atmosphere in store which is a huge tribute to the effort of all the team. Our online business is growing rapidly but the performance of the iconic store underlines its position as a destination. F&M added that investing more than £3m in new warehouse and delivery systems ensured that customers received their hampers in time for Christmas. In 2011, the department store suffered computer glitches that meant thousands of hampers had barely left F&M's warehouse only three days before Christmas. The distinctive wicker baskets, which cost up to £5,000 and are stamped with the black "F&M" logo, have been favourites of everyone from Queen Victoria to Elizabeth Taylor. The ill-fated 1924 British expedition to Mount Everest, headed by George Mallory, famously took a Fortnum & Mason hamper containing foie gras, asparagus, lobster and a full carving set up the world's highest mountain.