Primark’s performance since reopening shows the continued relevance of its low-price, bricks-and-mortar business model that trumps online rivals, its bosses believe.

While Primark faced questions during the coronavirus lockdown about its refusal to trade online, parent company ABF’s finance director John Bason told Retail Week that reopening week queues and recent trading performance were testament to its enduring strengths.

Primark opened all of its English stores on the first day after lockdown, often drawing queues of shoppers.

Bason said: “It would be stupid to say there was not pent-up demand, but people have missed Primark and Primark prices.” He maintained that a basket comparison would show that Primark offers lower prices than digital competitors. “Online is more expensive – period,” he said.

Despite the reopening success, Bason warned that “the consumer is not back to normal in any shape or form”.

Primark reported that since starting to reopen on May 4, cumulative sales to June 20 of £322m were 12% lower than last year, like for- ike. In the week to June 20, following England’s move out of lockdown on June 15, sales were £133m and trading in England and Ireland was ahead of the same week last year. Retail parks performed particularly well.

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Bason said in big cities such as London or Birmingham consumers’ confidence in using public transport would need to be restored before more normal trading patterns can return.

He said: “Retail parks are off the scale. Why’s that? It’s free parking, you load up and drive away.” He said a low infection rate and a move away from two-metre social distancing, which “doesn’t work on public transport”, would help draw shoppers to big city centres again.

He thought that the return of children to school in September, and the likelihood of more people in offices by then, would help “things fall into place” in city centres.

Bason said that the fact Primark opened all of its shops at once showed its confidence in the various types of location where it trades. “We opened every store we could and that says something. We shouldn’t be banded with some of these other guys, we didn’t phase – we even opened new stores.”

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