Profits soar as Primark defies High St gloom

PRIMARK bucked the gloom sweeping the High Street to deliver a 25pc jump in profits to £426m.

The fashion and homeware retailer shrugged off a boom in online shopping that is crippling other chains as customers continued to flock to its stores to snap up £2 sunglasses and £10 dresses.

Sales, which climbed 4pc to £ 3.6bn in the 24 weeks to March 2, were boosted by new store openings.

Primark is owned by Associated British Foods ( ABF) which is controlled by the billionaire Weston family.

Investors were rewarded for Primark’s success as ABF hiked its interim dividend by 3pc to 12.05p per share.

The results came just days after Primark opened its biggest store in the world, in Birmingham. It spans five floors across 160,000 square feet and features a Disney-themed cafe, nail and hair beauty bar and a large section dedicated to Harry Potter merchandise. Primark has enjoyed huge success at a time when many traditional retailers such as Debenhams and Marks & Spencer are struggling to attract customers, and have been closing stores.

It does not have a shopping website, meaning it relies on customers going into shops. And ABF chief executive George Weston said it has no plans to move online.

‘We have a model that works very well,’ Weston said. ‘We do a good chunk of what online already offers, which is really good communication about the ranges and the reasons to buy into the ranges. We’ve got 14m social media followers.

‘The only difference is that if you want to buy the products that you see online, I’m afraid you have to go down to the High Street.’

Analysts at Barclays said: ‘We are not overly perturbed by its lack of a transactional online offer, as its exceptionally strong market-share gains in the UK highlight.’