Primark’s boss is looking forward to a bumper Christmas despite a ‘particularly painful’ Budget for the High Street.
George Weston, who is chief executive of the fashion retailer’s parent company Associated British Foods, said it was in ‘really good shape’ as its peak trading period gets underway.
‘Our ranges are the best they have ever been, whether it’s for party gear, basics or jumpers to give to your dad,’ he declared.
‘The stores look fantastic and I think we’re going to have a good Christmas.’
Primark business saw annual revenues jump 6% to £9.4bn while adjusted operating profits were up 51% to £1.1bn
He said ‘fam jams’ – sets of matching festive pyjamas for the whole family – are expected to fly off the shelves.
The upbeat tone came as AB Foods posted a 4 per cent rise in annual revenues to £20billion and a 43 per cent rise in profits to £1.9billion.
The Primark business saw revenues jump 6 per cent to £9.4billion while adjusted operating profits were up 51 per cent to £1.1billion.
Shares in AB Foods, which also owns brands including Ovaltine, Ryvita and Twinings and has a major agricultural arm that sells animal feed to farmers, rose 3.2 per cent.
Weston’s optimism came despite warnings that policies in the Budget will add ‘several tens of millions’ of pounds to the group’s costs through the increase in the minimum wage and national insurance contributions paid by employers.
He also hit out at Labour’s ‘ill-judged’ proposed reforms for the business rates system, which will mean higher bills for his more valuable city centre stores.
He said: ‘It’s quite clear to me that this a Budget where the weight of the tax rises are falling on business – within that, it’s fallen particularly on the High Street.’
But he said Primark is likely to benefit from rises in the minimum wage as it will put more money in the pockets of many of its customers.
Weston vowed there was ‘no intention’ to raise prices for the rest of the year. The group said it would ‘focus on driving cost optimisation and efficiencies’ including with the introduction of self-service checkouts and energy savings.
Primark has benefited from ranges fronted by singer Rita Ora and tie-ups with Disney.
But wet weather in the spring and summer held back sales in the UK and Ireland.
‘However,’ a spokesman said, ‘we had a very encouraging start to sales of our autumn/winter ranges.’
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