WOOLWORTHS-to-Comet group Kingfisher shrugged off any concerns of slow Christmas sales by unveiling a 30.8 per cent jump in business in the last nine weeks of 1999.

The sales surge included business from newly-opened stores and a raft of takeovers by the group during the year.

Like-for-like sales, which exclude the effect of more store space, were still ahead six per cent on last year.

Total sales in the nine weeks to January 1 reached £2.59 billion.

Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, Kingfisher's chief executive, said he was pleased with the performance, which proved the group was delivering what customers wanted.

He added that the group would use the strong sales to invest in new outlets.

"We are investing heavily in

e-commerce and other new channels throughout the group and expect our revenue cost in this area to exceed £21 million in the current year," Sir Geoffrey said.

The strongest leap in trading was seen at the group's DIY business B&Q, where like-for-like sales were up 11.9 per cent over the nine week period.

The rise was helped by the buoyant housing market creating demand for home improvement products.

Total sales in Kingfisher's DIY division were up 30.2 per cent driven by the opening of eight B&Q Warehouse stores earlier in the year.

Demand for electrical goods at Christmas spurred trading at Comet where like-for-like sales were up 6.2 per cent, helped by strong TV and TV-related sales.

Woolworths saw like-for-like sales rise 3.1 per cent, described by the group as a "creditable achievement" in difficult trading.

But like-for-like sales at Superdrug were almost flat, up just 0.6 per cent, again blamed on tough trading and fierce price competition.

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