Fopp and Muzic Zone Xmas lift

Independent music retailers Fopp and Muzic Zone have revealed impressive Christmas trading figures as they bid to gain share from HMV and Virgin.

Scotland-based Fopp, due to open its 13th store in Reading in March, managed an 8.84 per cent surge in like-for-like sales for December, while total sales increased by 60.64 per cent.

Managing director Peter Ellen said: 'We dropped a bit of music retail space and put more DVDs and books at the front of store, which drove sales.'

Muzic Zone, which opens a shop on Oxford Street next month, notched up a 6.1 per cent rise in like-for-like sales.