Primark is going to start offering online deliveries (but not in Ireland)

PRIMARK HAS ANNOUNCED that it will offer home deliveries for the first time – but for any Irish customers wondering, the service will only be available in Britain. 

The retailer’s parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) said Primark, which operates as Penneys in Ireland, has made “significant progress in building its digital capabilities”. 

Chief executive George Weston said this progress would continue “through both growing click & collect and by offering home delivery in Great Britain in the future”. 

“There is now an opportunity for incremental and profitable growth through this channel,” he said. 

ABF has bought a new warehouse in Sheffield to support the plans.

When asked by The Journal if there were any plans for home deliveries in Ireland, a spokesperson said: “I can confirm today’s news does not apply to Ireland.”

Primark has grown its “click and collect” offering in the UK for people to shop and make purchases online then collect in stores.

A spokesperson said the success of this service “has given us confidence that the time is right”.

“Our stores will always be at the heart of Primark, today’s news is about giving customers even more choice in how they shop with us, another exciting way we’re growing Primark.”

The click and collect service is still not available in Ireland.

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Penneys launched its website in 2023, which allows shoppers to see if certain items are in stock in their local store – but without the option to buy for click and collect or home delivery. 

The retailer recently unveiled price cuts on hundreds of fashion items, which the company said had led to positive sales momentum particularly for nightwear, leisure and fitness ranges.

ABF is preparing to separate Primark from its food business and list it on the FTSE 100 as a standalone entity by the end of 2027.

Besides Primark, the company is almost entirely focused on food. It owns a roster of brands in the British grocery sector, like Kingsmill, Twinings, Jordans, Patak’s and, following a recent acquisition, Hovis. 

Many analysts suspect that this slightly odd structure has led to investors undervaluing both Primark and ABF’s food business.

Earlier this year, one told The Journal that the group “was valued at a 11% conglomerate discount to peers”.

That means they think the two businesses separated would be worth at least 11% more than ABF’s current valuation.

In a trading update to investors this week, ABF said Primark sales are expected to have dipped by 2.6% over the past financial year when compared like-for-like with the year before.

The decline has been driven by weaker sales in continental Europe, whereas sales in the UK are estimated to have edged up by 0.6% year-on-year.

While it recorded £9.5 billion (€11 billion) in revenue last year, this was only a 1% increase compared to the year before.

With reporting from Press Association