Penneys sees record sales in Irish stores after lockdown restrictions are lifted

The queue at Penneys in Cork on Tuesday as Level 5 restrictions were lifted. Picture Dan Linehan

Retailer Penneys said their stores in Ireland have broken their daily sales records for two days running since reopening this week. 

In a trading update issued today, the parent company of Penneys and Primark, Associated British Foods said before and after the second lockdown was much higher than had previously been expected.

Penneys and Primark stores across Ireland, the UK, France and Belgium all reopened in the last week. 

The retailer has extended opening hours in most of their stores to cater for the anticipated higher customer demand and to help ensure a safer environment by spreading shopping hours over a longer period.

Thirty-four of the company's stores remain temporarily closed, including all stores in Northern Ireland and Austria.

The company has now raised its estimate of lost sales due to Covid-19 lockdowns this autumn to €476m but said it was hopeful of making up some of the shortfall with "phenomenal" pre-Christmas trading.

The group, which had previously forecast a €416m sales hit from forced store closures, said it still expects full-year 2020/21 sales and profit to be higher than the previous year's.

Primark, which does not have an online offer, made a profit of €401m in its 2019/20 financial year which ended on September 12.

Trading at stores in its major markets of Ireland, England, France and Belgium which reopened in the last week has been "phenomenal", said AB Foods' finance chief John Bason.

"It's very clear that our trading before the lockdown and now our trading these first few days after lockdown (is) way higher than we had previously expected," he told Reuters.

"So I think it will erode that (€476m) number when we finally come to report it," he said.

Bason noted that stores in Ireland broke their daily sales records on two days running. "I think we'll have a strong run-up to Christmas," he added.

Shares in the group, majority-owned by the family of CEO George Weston, were up this morning paring 2020 losses to 9.1%.

Since September Primark has opened two new stores in the United States, in New Jersey and Florida.

It now trades in 11 stores in the United States and is accelerating its opening programme.

AB Foods said all orders Primark has placed with suppliers have been honoured.

The group also has a grocery division and said its trading in all these businesses has been ahead of both expectations and last year.

AB Foods said it has completed all practical preparations for the end of the Brexit transition period on Dec. 31 and contingency plans were in place should its businesses experience disruption.

Additional reporting Reuters