Pennies sister firm Primark is about to offer 2,000 children’s products as it tests click-and-collect services in more than two dozen stores in the North West of England.
That business said the test would run out of 25 stores and provide people who live near small Primark and access a wider range of items.
Parent company AB Foods said Monday: “Our average-sized stores are only able to stock a limited range and the number of options available to them for these customers will roughly double, for our smaller store customers. will increase even more.
“This trial will enable us to provide more fashion, licensed and lifestyle products to more customers and more frequently.”
The business said its new UK website, which launched in April, has proved popular. Traffic to the new site has increased by about 60 percent, and about 15 percent of customers are checking stock levels in stores.
The retailer is ready to deliver the margin the boss promised a year ago despite inflation in large parts of the economy.
AB Foods said Primark is “on track to deliver full-year adjusted operating profit margins of approximately 10 pc.”
This is an improvement from 7.4 per cent in the company’s previous fiscal year – which ended last September.
Owners in November asked shareholders to expect 10 pc margin for the current fiscal, as sales picked up when stores reopened after the lockdown.
Sure enough, sales grew by 81 percent in the three months to the end of May compared to last year.
Even when looking back, a year before the pandemic, sales were still 4 percent higher than they were before.
Some of the company’s TV partnerships have proved successful, with Lilo & Stitch and Stranger Things branded clothing doing well.
This comes despite massive inflation, which Primark previously said would force prices to rise in the autumn.
In Monday’s trading update, AB Foods did not comment on costs, inflation or prices on Primark.
But it did manifest pressure on many of its food businesses. AB Foods is the owner of AB Sugar, which employs approximately 40,000 people worldwide, tea company Twinings and others.
