Eyes on US prize, Primark considers Central American suppliers
Confident it can crack the $300 billion US clothing and shoes market where many other foreign retailers have failed, Britain’s Primark is ready to raise its bet on the country by securing new sources of fast fashion in central America.
Primark, whose trendy clothes at rock-bottom prices have taken UK shoppers by storm, opened in Boston in 2015 and now has nine stores in the northeast, all served by a warehouse in Pennsylvania that could still serve three times as many stores.
It has invested 250 million pounds ($313 million) in the United States, achieved a critical mass of sales and has a four-year education under its belt on a crowded market that is battling to stay afloat in the face of rapid e-commerce growth.
Now its owner, London-listed conglomerate Associated British Foods, is convinced Primark’s disciplined store-by-store approach can succeed in a country that has been a graveyard for some of Britain’s biggest retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Tesco and most recently Philip Green’s Topshop.
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