Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey has reported to the Australian Securities Exchange the retailer's first increase in sales in over one and a half months.

For the first time since Harvey Norman Holdings began advising the share market weekly on its sales in late October, the company has posted a 0.5% increase in like for like written sales for the 28 days ended November 30, 2008 when compared to the same period last year.

Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey repeated that retail margins continue to be under pressure.

Last week, the company advised that like for like written sales for the 28 days ended November 23, 2008 decreased 3.1% when compared to the same period last year. Harvey Norman has previously reported like for like written sales decreases ranging from 5.8% to 0.6%.

The company has posted its like for like written sales for the previous 28 days by the franchised Harvey Norman stores in Australia to offer guidance on retail conditions.