Strong sales of kitchens, bathrooms, furniture and carpets helped Leekes enjoy a robust performance over Christmas 2013 and the New Year.
The family-owned retailer, whose five home department stores are located across Wales, the west of England and the Midlands, saw overall growth in its winter sales of nearly 15%, with the recently-refurbished Cross Hands store delivering the best result at close to 25%.

Helped by the mild winter, Leekes also enjoyed a 20% increase in visitor numbers across its stores and websites, with particular growth in unique visitors to the websites of more than twice last year's levels.

"Our sales over the winter period were exceptional, and demonstrate growing consumer confidence and the knock-on effects of a more buoyant housing market," commented Leekes' managing director, Emma Leeke.

"Our modern kitchen studios in our stores, which have all been refurbished in the last six months, have experienced overall sales growth of over 80% against the same period last year. In addition, there has been a substantial recovery in bathroom sales as customers are more inclined to complete full bathroom renovations rather than simply replace individual items, which has been the experience in recent years.

"Considered purchases such as dining tables and chairs were up by nearly 20% while carpet sales grew by 25%. Sales of smaller accessory items such as mirrors, lighting and art also increased by 35%."

Online sales were also up by over 60% year-on-year, and the company has now developed two additional specialist websites. They provide detailed information about Leekes' conservatories, windows and doors and the kitchen range and service, and have helped to deliver increased levels of enquiries and strong sales leads.

Said Ms Leeke: "Our experience highlights the trend for potential customers to research considered purchases online before taking the decision to visit a store, and reinforces the importance of our continued investment in improving our online proposition."

She concluded: "Overall we are quietly optimistic about the year ahead as the housing market continues to recover and consumers look to invest in their properties."