Primark commits £100m to investment programme
Stores in Birkenhead, Bury, Chester, Southport, and Stockport will benefit from upgrades as the fast fashion retailer looks to improve its estate.
The £75m improvement programme is taken to £100m overall combined with new openings and relocations – one of the latter being in Bolton where the group will move into the former Debenhams unit this year.
Primark, which has now been trading for 50 years, said the programme “shows our ongoing commitment to the UK high street”.
With new store locations and extensions combined, Primark is set to reach 195 stores and almost 8m sq ft of selling space by the end of 2024, with around 700 jobs created across these stores.
Kari Rodgers, UK retail director at Primark said: “We’ve changed a lot in the fifty 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, hundreds of new jobs across the country and shows our ongoing commitment to the UK high street.”
Primark now employs more than 30,000 people in the UK and has 192 stores across the country. The business has also evolved to offer further services in-store, such as beauty studios, Greggs and Disney cafes, and Wornwell, a collaboration with Vintage Wholesale.
Outside of the UK, Primark can now be found in 15 other countries and has an ambition to reach 530 stores across its markets by the end of 2026.
The North West stores among the 15 lined up for upgrades:
- Birkenhead, 212-218 Grange Road
- Bury, The Rock shopping centre
- Chester. 52-60 Foregate Street
- Southport, 1 Chapel Street
- Stockport, Chestergate
