HOME furnishings retailer Ikea said its total sales increased to €27.9 billion (£23 billion) in 2013, which represents an increase of 3.1% compared with the previous year.

Comparable store sales at the Swedish company, which has 303 stores across 26 countries, were 1.8% higher.

Net profit for the 12 months up to August 2013 was a record 3.3 billion euros.

Some of the strongest growth was in Russia and China, while there was also an uplift in North America.