Warm weather brings out shoppers
Kingfisher-owned home improvement chain B&Q unveiled record sales of seasonal categories over the Easter weekend - more than double what it achieved last year.

More than 2.5 million homes were improved over the four-day holiday, when the retailer served 1,500 customers a minute.

Helped by the warm weather, sales of garden products soared. Garden furniture sales increased by more than a third and sales of decking and paving were also up almost a quarter.

B&Q marketing director Jo Kenrick said: 'People are spending more and more time in their gardens. Our new ranges and the more innovative products are going down a storm as customers transform their gardens into more flexible living spaces.'

Sales of external paints - masonry and exterior wood paints - rocketed 52 per cent compared with last Easter. The retailer reported record sales of barbeques, up 128 per cent. Sales of interior improvement products were flat year on year.

B&Q is the biggest home improvement retailer in the UK. It has 331 stores, including 116 Warehouse outlets.