Member Article

Primark enjoys annual sales success

Bargain high-street retailer Primark announced strong annual sales, after the company invested in store expansion.

Total sales increases of 17% year-on-year were supported by the weakened euro and continued strong selling on the continent, while like-for-like sales excluding new openings rose by 3%.

The firm, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), enjoyed great returns from new store openings in the UK, and Primark’s venture into the German market saw the company’s most successful first day’s sales ever in the Berlin store.

After an encouraging summer, the firm is optimistic for the next half as it predicts Autumn/Winter will also provide good returns.

Operating margins improved in the second half, after Primark chose not to pass on high cotton costs to customers in the first half, and the retailer expects margins to end on a similar figure to 2011.

Primark accelerated retail space expansion compared with last year, and expect to have 19 new stores open and an additional 0.9m sq ft of selling space, to bring the firm’s total to 242 stores with 8.2m sq ft of selling space.

European expansion was successful, and the store unveiled five domiciles in Spain, one in Berlin, and another shop on Oxford street in London which is due to open at the end of September.

Investment from parent company ABF, which also owns Silver Spoon sugar and UK groceries company Allied Bakeries, increased in the second half of 2012, and overtook figures for 2011 as a whole.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .