Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Entertainment
Henry Saker-Clark & Gary Armstrong

Primark anticipates Scotland stores will reopen 'late June'

Primark anticipates it will reopen stores in Scotland 'late June' as the retailer awaits further guidance on when it will be able to welcome in Scottish customers once more.

The announcement comes as Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) confirmed it is working to reopen all its 153 stores in England on June 15, after the UK Government gave non-essential retailers south of the border the go-ahead to begin trading again.

It said that it expects to have reopened 281 stores by that date, having already reopened 112 of its sites across mainland Europe.

Primark said it is awaiting guidance from the devolved administrations regarding stores in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales but anticipates openings at the end of this month.

ABF shut all its Primark stores in March in the face of coronavirus, which it said resulted in a loss of around £650 million for every month that all stores were closed.

It said that it cut more than 50% off overheads at Primark in a bid to stabilise its finances during the pandemic.

In a statement, the company said: "As European governments have begun to ease restrictions on clothing retailing we have been able to reopen stores.

"Safety has been our highest priority in our detailed preparations to welcome our customers and employees back to stores. We are following government safety advice in all markets.

"Importantly, we will apply the valuable experience gained from more than 100 stores which are already open as we open the remainder of our estate, including stores across the UK.

"Social distancing protocols, hand sanitiser stations, perspex screens at tills and additional cleaning of high frequency touch points in the store are among the measures we are implementing."

The retailer said trading has been "reassuring and encouraging" in its recently reopened stores, with queues outside most sites.

Nevertheless, it said cumulative like-for-like sales since reopening have been lower than the same period last year.

The firm added that "as long as social distancing is required, we expect it to restrict the capacity of our busiest stores from achieving their aggregate pre-Covid-19 sales".

Meanwhile, ABF said operating profits in its grocery business will be ahead of forecasts after "stronger sales" of branded products, although profits in its sugar arm are predicted to slip.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.