Marks & Spencer delighted investors this week with its strongest trading figures for years but Stuart Rose, its chief executive, still stopped short of declaring the group had turned the corner. Shares in the retailer shot 22p higher to 586p, reaching levels not seen since 1998 when the group was at the height of its hubris and ruled the high street with profits of more than £1bn (�?�1.42 bn).

In investors' minds, at least, Rose has delivered the recovery he promised when batting off Philip Green's 400p-per-share advances two summers ago.

Yet Rose is anxious not to count his chickens, even if they are the succulent oven-ready Oakham birds that feature in the group's widely mimicked food porn adverts on TV.

He is particularly keen not to hold himself hostage to fortune in the manner of Luc Vandevelde, the former chairman who declared M&S was "well beyond" the recovery stage in November 2003 only to be ousted five months later in the early phases of the takeover débâcle.

Despite like-for-like sales growth of 6.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to 1 April - twice as fast as analysts had expected - Rose ducked out of using the "R word", insisting: "We've been careful to say there is no recovery yet. We are just making steady progress."

He promised to revisit the question only if the group managed to grow its sales this Christmas when it will be up against much tougher comparisons.

"R word" or no, it is a significant turnaround story for a brand that just four years ago was the sick man of the high street, unloved by investors and consumers alike.

Rose did concede that the sort of progress M&S is making, which includes grabbing market share from rivals in all of its categories, puts the retailer six months ahead of his own game plan. "I do hope our shareholders feel we have vindicated ourselves when we said what value there was in the business when we turned the offer down in 2004, " he said.

Some analysts certainly think so. Richard Ratner, at Seymour Pierce, who was no fan of Rose's at the outset, said:

"He is being overcautious because he's done extremely well.

These are very, very good like-forlike figures at a time when everyone else is struggling to stay above the line and most people are below it."

M&S said its like-for-like general merchandise sales, which includes clothing, home and footwear, rose 8.2% in its fourth quarter, while food sales climbed 6.8% on the same basis.

Sales are reportedly even more robust here, but the company does not release separate figures for Ireland.

M&S's numbers contrasted particularly sharply with those recently reported by Next, which unveiled its worst sales figures for more than three years, with an underlying fall in sales of about 9%.

Fashionistas on this side of the Irish Sea have also been impressed by the changes in the clothing range, fronted since last year in a new TV advertising campaign that saw dowdy plus-sized models replaced with the decidedly more glam team of M&S spokesmodels led by Twiggy and Erin O'Connor.

"Certainly it's a huge difference from five years ago, " said Irish Tatler editor Jennifer Stevens. "They've always been reliable for basics like bras and knickers but the new ranges are more high end."

The per una range, targeted for a younger shopper, went very well, she said. But she reserved her highest praise for the Limited Collection, calling it "fashion forward".

"It's a really nice line, I wear them a fair bit now myself. Really nicely made jersey pieces, really cute cashmere jumpers for around �?�100."

Francesca Zedda, the executive fashion editor at Easy Living, a Conde Nast women's title also aimed at M&S's archetypal female fan, has a foot in both camps when it comes to calling the recovery.

"Definitely this season M&S is better than it's ever been. It has very daring, directional pieces that you can actually find in store, " she said.

Dresses that softly hint of 1980s puffballs with rolled-over hems and City shorts in this season's navy and white colour chart have made it on to the shop floor.

"They have upped their credibility. They have turned it around very well but they have to keep it up. I'm not completely sold. I have to see the autumn/winter collection first, " Zedda added.

Key to the success is the frequent refreshing of the stock - overcoming a traditional high street problem of keeping pace with fashion trends despite the volume of purchasing required.

"There's new stock every two or four weeks it seems, " Stevens added. "They get the colours and styles right. It's attractive to under30s fashion minded people who have money and come in every week spending �?�25 or �?�40."

M&S locations offering clothing in Dublin, Blackrock and Dundrum were recently supplemented by a new location in Newbridge, Co Kildare. An expansion of another 12 large stores in the Republic offering clothing are planned over the next three years, with an additional 13 opening under the Simply Food label.