Primark puts renewed focus on physical stores in investments in Britain and US

Retailer to revamp existing stores and open new outlets in a refit that will cost at least €117m this year

Primark-Penneys to invest £100m in stores.

Primark-Penneys is focusing on Britain and the US for its next round of growth, revamping existing stores and opening new outlets in a refit that will cost at least £100m (€117m) this year. 

Primark, which has a total of 439 stores around the world, notably relies on its physical outlets to generate the vast bulk of sales. It has, however, extensively trialed "click and collect" sales, while some rivals have developed full online sales, and the new investment by Primark likely underscores its belief in operating physical stores.      

In Britain, where it currently has 183 stores, the retailer plans to open three new stores this year and to complete large extensions to existing stores in London and Gateshead, as part of a £100m investment. It plans to open a  further two outlets in Britain in 2025.

In the US, the retailer has opened a huge warehouse in Jacksonville, Florida, and announced new stores for Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and Texas. 

“We’ve seen growing demand for Primark stores across the US, particularly in our southern locations where we’ve even expanded our store footprint in our Sawgrass Mills store to meet customer demand,” said Kevin Tulip, president of Primark US.  

Across Ireland, Primark-Penneys has 46 stores, including nine in the North. The existing Newry store will also be included in the investment revamp. 

The retailer is owned by Associated British Foods which generates almost half of its revenues from Primark-Penneys.