Penneys enjoying sunnier outlook with 'early signs of improvement'
Primark, trading as Penneys in Ireland, is enjoying a sunnier outlook after Rachel Reeves’s Budget cast a cloud over sales at the start of the year.
UK and Ireland sales at the fashion retailer slid 4pc over the 24 weeks to March 1, a trading update revealed yesterday.
But recent weeks have shown “early signs of improvement” said George Weston, chairman of Primark’s parent company Associated British Foods (ABF).
Warmer weather is helping to shift summer ranges, an ABF spokesman added.
Weston said that after the UK Chancellor’s Budget last October, less affluent shoppers had “started to display real caution around their spending”.
But as the summer holidays approach, confidence “feels a little bit better now”, he added.
Long seen as the jewel in the crown of the Associated British Foods (ABF) empire, the fast-fashion chain was rocked last month when boss Paul Marchant left over an allegation of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague.
Paul Marchant left over an allegation of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague. Photograph: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie. (Pic: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie)
Investors had been keen to see whether the brand had managed to get sales back on track after a disappointing performance over the crucial Christmas shopping period.
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