Primark draws road map for urban blitz

Primark, the value clothing powerhouse, is gearing up to take the high street by storm on the back of a determined expansion drive.

The retailer - owned by Associated British Food - has poached former Marks & Spencer head of property development Tom Meager to lead the charge as Primark's first head of property.

Meager, who began on Monday, said he intends to undertake a 'road map' review of Primark's geographical coverage in the UK.

Meager said there were opportunities for more shops across Britain, particularly 'in the major cities', but would not reveal a target number. New megastores of up to 5,575 sq m planned for big cities will increase space 'exponentially', he said.

At present, Primark has 116 stores covering 185,800 sq m, including 42 in Northern Ireland and Eire. Meager said: 'There is a definite desire to open as much space as possible in the right places. We see a major opportunity and we have a winning formula.'

Richard Hyman, chairman of retail research house Verdict, said Primark controls approximately 10 per cent of the UK value clothing market and accounts for 1.5 per cent of the£35 billion total clothing market.

Hyman said: 'Primark is a really good business model which is very difficult to compete against. The question you ask about any retail business is whether it scaleable, and Primark definitely is.'

Primark generated profit up 14 per cent to£42 million on sales of£359 million for the 24 weeks to March 1. Like-for-like growth of 7 per cent was reported.