No, Primark will no longer be waltzing labels. Despite inflation driving up its production costs, forcing it to raise its prices this autumn, the Irish clothing brand promises no hikes in 2023, assures Christine Loizy, chief executive of Primark in France. Above all, this behemoth, whose €14 jeans draw crowds, will accelerate its worldwide expansion.
Just weeks after publishing revenue of €8.8 billion for the 2021-2022 financial year, which closed in September – down 10% on 2019, on a like-for-like basis -, and an operating profitability of less than 10%, the brand unveils a new ambition : to manage 530 points of sale at the end of 2026, or 122 more than at the end of September. Overseas will devote 160 million euros to its expansion over the next two years. In the United States, its goal is to reach 60 stores in 2026, up from a dozen currently.
Unlike Germany, where the brand is in the red, France is also on track. “As well as Spain and Italy”, explains Ms. Loizy, without specifying the development potential that her parent company, the AB Foods conglomerate with a turnover of 19 billion euros, could assign to her in France. On Friday 9 December, the chain with 20 stores in France must launch a barrage of openings in the L’Atoll shopping centre, near Angers.
Litigation
“This will be the first of a long series of inaugurations”, Ms. Loizy points out. By the end of 2023, seven stores will open in Brest, Saint-Etienne, Mulhouse, Rouen, Nantes and Grenoble, double that of 2021. In addition, Primark will double its surface area in the Lyon-Part Dieu shopping centre, reaching 10,000 m2. In total, the brand is expected to allocate 100 million euros for the creation of these 29,000 m² in France in 2023. It manages more than 100,000 m2 Today.
Primark’s plethora of men’s, women’s and children’s and home furnishing offerings require at least 4,000m² – the size of a supermarket. This place ” not easy to find, explains Ms. Loizy. In fact, each project requires two years of study and work. Many are the subject of litigation, such as that of the Grand’Place center, located near Grenoble. Paris also gives the brand a hard time, despite being present in Madrid, London and Berlin. Unable to find a suitable location, almost ten years after the opening of his first tricolor shop, he manages none in the capital.
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