SALES UP 4.5% FOR BUDGET CHAIN

FAST fashion giant Primark outshone its rivals in style after backing the high street with new stores.

This meant Primark’s global sales rose 4.5 per cent in the 16 weeks to January 4.

Analysts reckon sales in UK stores opened at least a year dipped 0.5 per cent, better than the market-wide one/two per cent decline.

“Trading was particularly good over November and December,” said Primark owner Associated British Foods.

ABF finance boss John Bason said the Monday before Christmas was “a blowout – it was huge … records were broken”.

The upbeat update contrasts with those from many rivals which reported tough festive trading. N Brown, owner of fashion firms Simply Be and Jacamo, yesterday slashed its profit forecasts.

Primark’s performance is all the more impressive as it doesn’t sell clothes online, using the internet to plug ranges instead.

This includes big-selling, cut-price beauty products and tie-ups with film and TV hits, including a fashion collection with Netflix series Stranger Things.

Bason, 62, responded to criticism that some people get too many clothes they soon throw away and should really buy secondhand. “Primark has been an enabler for ordinary people to buy clothes they not only need but to have a bit of fun,” he said.

“I am old enough to remember when we struggled to buy a couple of basic items.”

ABF, a sprawling multinational that makes everything from Twinings tea and Silver Spoon sugar to agricultural ingredients, saw group sales rise four per cent over the 16 weeks.

Oxford Street store transfer card. While zero per cent balance transfers at 40 months plus were once the norm, now the best you’ll get is 29 months from Sainsbury’s Bank with a 2.74 per cent fee.

You can also get 18 months from Barclaycard with no fee, making it totally free if you repay your balance before the promotion period ends.

Andrew Hagger, from Moneycomms. co.uk, said: “These deals are still a good way to manage your borrowing if used sensibly and you pay off all or as much as you can while the rate is at zero.”