£1.1 billion drop in sales of Primark clothing in the UK due to pandemic

THE Irish based Primark company which has more than 320 stores around the world has announced that it expects to have lost £1.1 billion (€1.21 billion) in 2020 sales.

The closure of its UK stores (where it has the largest presence) due to the lockdown and the pandemic is the primary cause of the loss and the fact that it has no online presence.

So, when it reopens its 153 stores in England on April 12 and Scotland April 26 if all goes well, it will be offering last year’s stock, with an estimated value of at least £400 million (€440 million) to its customers.

With fashion being so fickle, it may well be that it will have to make reductions on its already low-priced clothes to persuade customers to purchase.

The lack of any online options is explained by the fact that the costs of starting up from scratch would be so high that the company would have to increase its prices, but as price is one of its most important selling points, this is a non-starter.

Happily, for owners Associated British Foods which is one of the largest manufacturers of sugar and baker’s yeast in the world, the lockdown has seen sales of its grocery brands which include Kingsmill Bread, Twinings Tea and Ryvita grow so it can afford to weather the financial storm.

In the Republic of Ireland, where the clothing division was first set up, it is known as Penneys but had to change the name for overseas use due to the rights of American store group J C Penney.

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