Primark to expand footprint in the American market

Primark strengthens its footprint in the American market. The Irish retailers has just released it trading updates prior to entering the close period for its interim results for the 24 weeks to February 2020. The two-store opening will take place at American Dream, New Jersey, Sawgrass Mills, Florida. The business in the American market continued to perform strongly, seeing growth in like-for-like sales, particularly in its store in Brooklyn which experienced strong trading.

The low-cost company expects its sales to grow by 4.2% ahead of last year in the first half. In the UK, the company expects a growth of 3.0% in clothing, footwear, and accessories, which will be driven by new selling space and partially offset by a 1.3% decline in like-for-like sales. Primark saw positive results in the UK market over November and December, however, this growth has come to fall in January and February in comparison to the prior year.

The market with the biggest forecasts is that of the Eurozone, it is expected to grow by 5.3% ahead of last year at constant currency with particularly strong sales growth in France, Belgium, and Italy. The recently opened store in Milan exceeded expectations along with the store in Ljubljana that also kept a constant solid trade.

The Irish retailer who sources a broad assortment of its product from china stated that “We typically build inventories in advance of Chinese New Year and, as a consequence, are well stocked with cover for several months and do not expect any short-term impact,” in its forecast report. However, it also mentioned that the company is working closely with its suppliers in China to assess the impact of the coronavirus on their factories, that said, if delays are prolonged further, there will be a risk of a supply shortage in this financial year.