LONDON -- Luxury goods maker Burberry says its digital innovations helped drive up sales in the crucial three months through to the end of 2013.

The maker of the iconic trench says Wednesday that its third-quarter sales rose by 14 per cent to 528 million pounds ($728 million), with growth particularly strong in China and Korea.

The trading figures, which encapsulate the key Christmas shopping season, will be among the last for Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts before she departs for a senior role at computer maker Apple.

Ahrendts says the performance reflects increased spending on marketing and customer service, which has made the Burberry brand more valuable.

Ahrendts will be handing control of the company in mid-2014 to designer Christopher Bailey -- one of the key people behind Burberry's digital drive.