Primark (ABF.L) is set to open five new stores over the next two years as it invests more than £100m in its UK stores this year.
The fashion and home retailer said the investment, which marks 50 years of Primark on the British high street, would create over 700 new jobs ranging from retail assistants to store manager positions.
The first new store will open in Bury St Edmunds on March 6, followed by Teesside Park and Glasgow Fort later this year.
The retailer will also unveil its newly upsized London’s Westfield Stratford store, which has almost doubled in size to more than 81,000sqft to become the second largest Primark in the capital.
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This will be followed by its stores in Gateshead’s Metrocentre, which will expand to almost 80,000sqft of total shopping space once reopened later this year.
New stores will also open in Epsom, Surrey, and Newbury, Berkshire, in 2025.
Combining the new store locations and extensions, Primark is set to reach 195 stores and almost 8 million square feet of selling space by the end of the year.
Kari Rodgers, UK retail director at Primark said: “We’ve changed a lot in the fifty years since we opened the doors on our first store in Great Britain in Derby back in 1974, but at our heart, we are still the same. We’re as committed as ever to offering the very best value on the high street and making great fashion more affordable and accessible for everyone.
“This latest investment will mean bigger and better stores, hundreds of new jobs across the country and shows our ongoing commitment to the UK high street.”
The company is also relocating several stores in Bradford, High Wycombe and Bolton to new and improved sites, while another 15 existing stores will be refurbished this year as part of an ongoing refit programme.
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This includes upgrading décor and store fixtures, alongside the continued rollout of LED lighting as part of Primark’s progress towards its commitment to halve its carbon footprint by 2030.
It comes as Primark opened a new US distribution centre in Jacksonville, Florida. The 550,000 sq ft facility will serve the retailer’s expansion in the country with a focus on Southern states including Florida and Texas.
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