Primark shrugs off brickbats as sales go rocketing by 21%

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The company launched an investigation a few days ago after employees wrote expletive-ridden disparaging remarks on social networking website Facebook.

One described the Primark experience thus: "The place is a market for pikeys."

If the company is embarrassed, it wasn't saying so today. The third-quarter sales figures of parent group Associated British Foods show it is growing while much of the rest of the High Street remains in the mire.

Primark sales are up 21% in the 16 weeks to 20 June, another strong result that is likely to see its market share rise.

Its 190 stores are increasingly rivalling Marks & Spencer as the leading seller of clothes in the UK and Ireland.

The company has faced allegations that it sources goods from suppliers that employ child labour.

In 2008, following a Panorama expose, it stopped doing business with at least one Indian supplier.

Simon McRae, senior campaigns officer at the anti-poverty charity War on Want, said: "Our research shows a stark contrast between Primark's success and the poor wages and conditions faced by its Bangladeshi garment workers.

"Primark cannot be trusted to ensure decent treatment for these workers. It is high time Gordon Brown introduced regulation to stop this abuse." Yesterday it emerged that Primark's director of international trading has quit after less than a year. The high street chain announced the departure of Guy Young, who was also responsible for buying stock for the company's overseas stores, to staff last week.

The Facebook issue rumbles on. One employee complained about customers" leaving clothes in a mess, saying that she wanted to "drop-kick them to the homeware department". Another wrote about "hefty" shoppers who needed to "lose some weight".

ABF today preferred to focus on "good progress made in working capital management".

Its sugar arm saw revenues up 19%. The food business in general is benefiting from the weakness of sterling. Overall, group sales are up 14%.

The shares lost 51⁄2p to 759p.