Briscoes increasing stores, brands

The Briscoes Group says opening new stores and selling more brands will be how it pushes its profit growth further over the next year.

The homewares shopping group posted a 10.2 percent rise in profits for the 12 months to late January compared to the same period the previous year, while sales rose 6.8 percent.

Its sales for the full year reached $483.6 million, while profits were $33.58 million.

Managing director Rod Duke says that over the next year the focus will be on opening new stores and refurbishing old ones. He says five or six new stores are likely to open in the next 12 months compared with only one in the past 12 months (in Kerikeri_.

Mr Duke says stores are planned for Westgate and Newmarket in Auckland; others planned include two new ones on land that's been purchased in Wellington.