Primark to place £1 bn orders for autumn/winter season

"Trading in our reopened stores has in aggregate been reassuring and encouraging," the trading update said. "Consumer demand has been strong for children’s, leisure and night wear, along with summer products such as shorts and t-shirts, and unsurprisingly weak for formal menswear and travel-related accessories."

Since the reopening of the first stores on May 4, cumulative sales for the seven-week period to 20 June were £322 million and were 12 per cent lower than last year on a like-for-like basis. However, "sales in the week ended June 20, with over 90 per cent of our selling space reopened, were £133 million and trading in England and Ireland were ahead of the same week last year. We have continued our policy of offering the best prices, and markdowns for the period since reopening have been minimal," Associated British Foods (ABF) said.

As of July 2, Primark's 367 stores have reopened with the remaining eight expected to follow in the near future.

"With our stores trading, we have now placed orders worth over £800m for the autumn/winter season and, with further orders to be placed shortly, we expect the total for the coming season to exceed £1bn. Our sourcing team is in frequent and direct contact with each of our suppliers in relation to other supportive measures," ABF said in its update.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)