Primark sees record run up to Christmas
Primark has recorded strong festive trading, and saw record sales in the week running up to Christmas.
In the 16 weeks to January 7, UK sales at the clothing retailer were ahead by 15% against the previous year, nearly all of which was like-for-like growth.
The retailer’s parent group, Associated British Foods (ABF), said this was due to higher unit volumes, higher average selling prices, and normalised levels of markdown. It also cited comparatively lower levels of footfall in 2021 as a result of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 affecting consumer habits.
ABF also said that retail trading space had increased by 700,000 sq ft to 17.7m sq ft year-on-year and that all new stores were performing well.
According to ABF’s trading update, Primark’s share in the UK clothing market increased from the previous year by half a percent to 7%, and was very close to record trading when stores reopened in June 2021 after a prolonged lockdown.
The retailer also enjoyed a strong performance worldwide, with European sales up 16% and US sales growing by 4%.
Primark added that its online performance had also improved, with its website traffic in the UK increasing some 85% over the year. It’s also planning to launch its online store in Europe and the US within the next few years.