Primark will invest a further £75m into its UK store estate this year, creating 700 new jobs at the fashion giant as it marks its 50th anniversary on British high streets.
The announcement will bring Primark’s total investment to more than £100m in its UK stores in 2024, building on investment plans revealed last November.
The retailer is set to open new stores in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, Teesside Park in Stockton-on-Tees and Glasgow Fort retail park this year, with openings in Epsom, Surrey, and Newbury, Berkshire, planned for 2025.
The investment will also see some of the biggest store upsizes in its history with the Westfield Stratford City store anticipated to double in size to more than 81,000 sq ft, becoming the second largest Primark in the capital.
Primark’s store at the Metrocentre shopping centre in Gateshead, Tyneside, will also extend to almost 80,000 sq ft when it reopens later this year.
By the end of 2024, Primark’s new openings and upsizes will bring its store portfolio total to 195, with more than 8 million sq ft of selling space.
The new store fits will all include the rollout of LED lighting as part of the fashion giant’s bid to halve its carbon footprint by 2030.
Primark UK retail director Kari Rodgers said: “We’ve changed a lot in the 50 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 and hundreds of new jobs across the country, and shows our ongoing commitment to the UK high street.”
Primark is also embarking on an expansion strategy internationally and has recently opened a new warehouse and four new stores in the US.
At the end of last year, Primark also announced plans to invest more than €50m (£43.3m) into its Italian business and confirmed store openings in Turin, Livorno, Cosenza, Salerno and Genoa, creating 600 new roles and bringing its Italian store estate to a total of 20.
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