At the time of writing, the fashion retailer’s shares are up 10% to $5.70. Why is the Universal Store share price surging higher? Investors have been fighting to get hold of the fashion retailer’s shares after it revealed that it expects to report a significant jump in its sales and earnings in the first half of FY 2021. According to the release, Universal Store’s first half sales were up 24% to approximately $118 million for the six months ended 31 December. Management advised that this was driven by a 26.5% increase in like for like sales, which offset store closures in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney during lockdowns.