Primark to open all stores in England on June 15

[LONDON] Fashion retailer Primark is working to re-open all its 153 stores in England on June 15, in line with the country's easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, its owner Associated British Foods said on Monday.

All Primark stores were closed over a 12-week period from March 11 as the virus spread, resulting in a loss of sales of about 650 million pounds (S$1.127 billion) for every month that all stores were closed.

As governments around Europe have begun to ease restrictions Primark has been able to re-open stores in those countries too.

Primark is currently trading from 112 stores across Europe and the United States, representing 34 per cent of its total selling space. By June 15 it plans to have 281 stores open or 79 per cent of selling space, including all stores in England.

Primark is awaiting further guidance from the devolved administrations for its stores in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland and anticipates openings in late June, AB Food said in its statement.

"Trading in our re-opened stores has been both reassuring and encouraging, with customer queues outside most stores and, once in store, spending on larger basket sizes," AB Foods said.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

But it cautioned that cumulative sales since re-opening, on a like-for-like basis, were down on the same period last year.

The company's initial view is that the implementation of social distancing measures will likely only affect sales to some extent in its busiest stores, which represent some 10-20 per cent of pre Covid-19 total Primark sales.

AB Foods also operates major grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients businesses.

It said annual grocery operating profit would be ahead of previous expectations, with stronger sales of branded products sold through retailers more than offsetting weaker sales in food services (pubs, restaurants and cafes). However, it was now expecting a lower profit at AB Sugar.

The group said it was still too early to resume overall earnings guidance for the remainder of the current financial year.

REUTERS