Associated British Foods today revealed that Primark‘s total sales surged by 20 per cent during the 16 weeks to 22 June 2013.
The retailer, which is owned by ABF, operates from a total of 257 stores and 9.0 million sq ft of space.
Primark was hit by the cold weather throughout March and April and experienced subdued LFL growth in the period. However, the fashion retailer has ‘comfortably outperformed‘ its high st rivals since then as warm weather has returned.
Joseph Robinson, Lead Consultant at Conlumino, said that “aggressive space expansion remained the primary driver of Primark‘s growth.” The store seems to have defied the aftermath of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh, and Primark has since been moved to criticise other retailers in an attempt to improve its standing.
For example, Primark asked the owners of Liberty Fashion‘s sewing unit to evacuate an ‘unsafe building‘ this June. When, after discussions with trade unions, Liberty refused”. Primark said it was left with no alternative but to terminate its relationship with this supplier with immediate effect.
The collapse, which killed 1,127 workers, is considered the most lethal garment-related industry disaster in history.
But Primark is now set to expand across Europe following the latest buoyant sales figures.
Mr Robinson added that Primark has “significant opportunities to expand on mainland Europe, especially in Spain, Germany and France” He added: “Primark represents an increasingly attractive proposition across the harder hit European economies.” The company was valued at £10.4bn by Panmure Gordon & Co investment banking this morning.
