Stax Trade Centres has reported annual group sales of more than £92.3m for the period from September 2009 to August 2010.
This equates to a 14% rise on the same period last year, bolstered by a strong development strategy, continued reinvestment and up-scaled marketing activities, according to the company.

All departments have seen significant levels of growth, said Stax, but sales of garden and seasonal-related products soared ahead with a 48% increase on last year. Plumbing remains the highest grossing area for the company, but lacked any considerable growth on the previous year. Geographically, Stax Manchester saw the greatest turnover, accumulating more than 35% of the total group sales.

Customer numbers have also significantly increased, said the report, rising to more than half a million visits for the first time.

Stax chairman Eddie Brady said: "We've been working very hard at Stax to recognise opportunities for growth in our industry and our up-scaled efforts within the gardening sector have paid dividends. We have also been investing heavily in our branches - in September of last year we opened the new Manchester branch, and throughout the year we have made improvements to all the other branches."

Recent improvements include adding a new purpose built kitchen and bathroom showroom to the Birmingham branch. Stax says it has plans to continue growth with further investment into the branches, as well as exploring opportunities within existing markets.

He added: "We have also spent more on our marketing and communications in the past 12 months than we have ever spent before - which during a recession is vital to ensure we're always fresh in our customers' minds."