Primark eyes longer opening hours when stores reopen before Christmas

Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) has said the retailer’s high street stores could extend their opening hours for Christmas shoppers when they can open their doors again.

ABF finance chief John Bason told the PA news agency that the company expects “strong” demand when stores reopen following the latest COVID-19 lockdown in England.

“We are absolutely looking at longer opening hours,” he said. “Safety will be paramount and our teams have worked very well to deal with demand and ensure queue management so will continue to work hard to adapt to demand ahead of Christmas.

“We’ve seen very strong sales over the past few days and would expect similar today and tomorrow.”

His comments came as ABF reported lower profits for the past financial year in its latest stock market update.

The group said it will be affected by recently announced lockdown restrictions across Europe, which will see its stores in England shut their doors temporarily from Thursday until at least 2 December.

ABF said the new restrictions will have a “significant” impact on Primark, although it still expects sales and profits at the retailer during the current financial year to be higher.

In a separate update on Monday, it warned that the latest closures are expected to result in a £375 million loss of sales ahead of the key Christmas period.

Earlier today it told investors it lost around £800 million from Primark during the three-month closure from March, as it continued to pay suppliers.

Nevertheless, it reported that sales gradually recovered after the closure period, with sales of children’s clothes, leisurewear and nightwear surpassing pre-COVID levels.