Primark is gearing up to open its first store in Holland this year as its plans to conquer Europe take shape.

The value fashion giant, owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), aims to open a store in the port city of Rotterdam and plans are thought to be afoot to open stores in Portugal this year as well.

A source close to Primark – which operates 170 stores with 4.8 million sq ft of selling space in the UK, Spain and Ireland, where it operates under the Penneys fascia – confirmed it plans to open stores in Germany and Scandinavia, as revealed in Retail Week (October 5, 2007).

The source said that there was no fixed sequence for which European countries it will enter next and stressed that this will depend on the sites it secures first.

In Germany, Primark is likely to compete with C&A and Alder.

In a pre-close trading update, ABF said like-for-likes at Primark rose 4 per cent, with Christmas trading exceeding expectations.