Value fashion giant Primark has announced the opening of a new Florida-based distribution centre and four new stores in the US as it ramps up its international expansion.

The new 550,000 sq ft distribution centre in Jacksonville, Florida, opened this week and is set to focus on serving Primark customers across southern states.

Primark also confirmed it has signed the lease on four new locations and is set to open stores at shopping centres in Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas.

Primark said the new US stores will total more than 128,000 sq ft of retail space and will bring “Primark’s signature combination of the latest fashion trends and essentials for the whole family, as well as homewares and beauty, at affordable prices”.

The company’s wider expansion strategy includes having a US store estate of 60 by 2026.

Primark US president Kevin Tulip said: “We’ve seen growing demand for Primark stores across the US, particularly in our southern locations where we’ve even expanded our store footprint in our Sawgrass Mills store [in Florida] to meet customer demand.

“The opening of this distribution centre in Jacksonville comes at the perfect time for the brand and our customers as we set our sights on continued growth across the US, including in Florida, Texas, as well as our first store in Tennessee. We’re thrilled to continue to bring ‘Primania’ to new customers with our expansion.” 

Primark announced last November that it also plans to invest more than €50m (£43.3m) into its Italian business and open five new stores in the country.