Electricals specialist Comet has refitted its 85 stores with a bigger, bolder console hardware offering after a bumper year of sales.

The retailer has seen huge growth within its games department over the last year, and has moved to capitalise on that by giving interactive entertainment a far greater in-store presence.

“The like-for-like growth the games category has experienced this year makes it a big focus within our business,” said Comet category buyer for games Debbie O’Neill.

“The space for games in our 85 top stores has undergone a major display refit this year with the rest of the stores to be fitted out early next year.

“Comet’s new in-store set-up is focused on displaying the hardware in a unique and inviting way. It provides specialist hardware messages explaining the benefits of each console, supporting this with a great range of software and accessories impartially.”

The new offering follows a year of strong growth for the games industry – and Comet has taken full advantage.

“Throughout the year all formats have stepped up to the mark and performed for us,” said O’Neill. “We have had great success with Wii and DS Lite. The great starter package on PS3 60GB saw incredible sales, Xbox has gone from strength to strength with the introduction of Elite and the price drop and the Halo 3 launch left most retailers with a huge uplift in sales.”