Summit Post
Primark will offer home delivery in Britain for the first time, as the fast-fashion retailer prepares to spin off from its owner Associated British Foods (ABF). The clothing chain, which already offers a click and collect service in the UK, has long avoided home delivery, arguing that its low prices made it too difficult to absorb the cost of packing and shipping orders. However, the company disclosed on Thursday that it had acquired an automated fulfilment facility in Sheffield and would offer home delivery ‘in the future’.
‘Primark’s digital maturity, including the success of click and collect, and online market developments, mean there is now the opportunity for profitable growth through the home delivery channel,’ it said in a statement. The news comes as Primark prepares to split from its parent company ABF, the owner of Twinings tea and Kingsmill bread. The demerger, expected to complete in December 2027, is likely to create two new FTSE 100 companies, with analysts predicting Primark could be valued at as much as £9bn and the food business £4bn.
The company reported a 3% drop in sales in its quarter ended 12 September, with the UK and Ireland up 0.4% but continental Europe down 4.3%. George Weston, ABF’s CEO, noted that Primark’s trading in Europe remained challenging but that initial customer reactions to its ‘iconic value’ campaign were encouraging. Weston will lead the food business post-demerger, while Eoin Tonge, a former ABF, Marks & Spencer, and Greencore finance director, will remain as Primark’s CEO.
Founded in Dublin in 1969 under the Irish brand Penneys, Primark opened its first UK store in Derby in 1974 and employs over 80,000 people globally.
Source: The Guardian
