Primark to open 18 new stores in current financial year
Primark is to open 18 new stores this year after sales rose by 4.5% at constant currency in its first quarter and by 3% at actual exchange rates.
Primark owner Associated British Foods said the sales growth was due almost entirely to an increase in selling space, although its like-for-like performance also improved following a significant upturn in the Eurozone.
Sales in the UK were 4% ahead of the same period last year, but there was a marginal decline in like-for-like sales despite particularly good trading in November and December.
Meanwhile, sales in the Eurozone rose by 5.1% after the retailer made “strong progress” in France and Italy.
Primark opened three new stores in the period in Seville in Spain, Kiel in Germany and Milan in Italy. The retailer is expected to open 18 new stores in the current financial year including the launch of its first store in Poland this spring.
