Electronics Boutique has announced record sales for the December trading period.
Overall sales in the UK and Ireland at Europe's largest retailer of video games and computer software rose by 51 per cent and like-for-like sales increased by 47 per cent in the five weeks to 29 December 2001. Cumulatively, sales are up by 41 per cent overall and 38 per cent on a like-for-like basis.
According to the company, sales have been significantly boosted by the launch of Sony’s Playstation 2 in November 2000.
The PlayStation 2 installed base in the UK and Ireland is now estimated to exceed 1.7 million, greatly outperforming the historic success of the original PlayStation, which had an installed base of under 700,000 at the same stage in its lifecycle five years ago.
"Our strong year-on-year performance became even better in December. The remarkable sales of PlayStation 2 consoles and the coming launch of Microsoft XBox in March will further stimulate our market in the coming year," non-executive chairman Mr Peter Lewis said.
"Since Christmas, demand for video games to meet the needs of the newly installed console base has continued at record levels. A golden era has begun".
The Group operates from 290 standalone stores in the UK and Ireland and has trading relationships with partners such as Debenhams and Sainsburys.