for £29 million, and merged it with Comet. As part of its plan to integrate the two store groups, Comet closed 26 of its own stores and 28 Norweb stores, resulting in 1,200 redundancies. The Wal-Mart effect (1999–2000) In April 1999, Kingfisher attempted a merger with Asda, but was subsequently outbid by Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. The £6.7 billion acquisition "sent a ripple of fear through United Kingdom stores". Kingfisher responded by appointing Joe Riordon, former vice-president of Wal-Mart's people division, as managing director of Comet. Riordan oversaw the launch of a £2 million, 30,000 ft2 (2,787 m2) Comet store in Paisley, described as "the blueprint to transform the industry". In effect a carbon copy of Wal-Mart's retail strategy, the move was an attempt to "beat Wal-Mart at its own game... before it has a chance to turn its guns on Comet's sector". Riordan left the company abruptly in April 2000. In July 2000, Wal-Mart, in what The Times described as "the opening shots in the assault on its British counterparts", announced that it would be discounting some goods by up to 60%. The stock market value of British chain stores fell by around £700 million within days of the announcement. KESA Electricals (2000–2006) In September 2000 Kingfisher revealed its plan to demerge into two listed companies, separating the "poorly performing" Comet and B&Q groups (provisionally called New Kingfisher) from the Superdrug, Woolworths and Big W chains (General Merchandise). The demerger of the electricals business, including Comet and French chains Darty and BUT, delayed in part by "indecision and management infighting," eventually took place in July 2003, with the group renamed KESA Electricals. The name originated from Kingfisher Electricals with the SA taken from Société Anonyme, the French equivalent of plc. The rapid growth of online shopping during the period 2000–2003 had surprised many analysts. A 2000 report, published by the United Kingdom's Department of Trade and Industry, "Clicks and Mortar: The New Store Fronts," had forecast that United Kingdom online shopping for 2002 could range from £1.2 billion to an optimistic £6.3 billion. The actual figure for 2002 was £7 billion. During 2001–02, e-commerce electrical retailer dabs.com made sales of £116 million, which one analyst pointed out was the equivalent trade of 25 Comet stores. As dabs.com employed only 185 staff, this was described as "a rate of productivity which the mainstream retailer can only dream about." Although