Primark now Britain's second biggest clothes store, thanks to rise in disposable fashion

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The credit crunch may be bad news for many high street shops - but not the cut-price clothing stores.

Primark, the UK's biggest "value fashion" chain, yesterday revealed its half-year takings rose 25 per cent to £899million as hard-pressed shoppers sought out bargains on its racks.

The increase gives Primark a 10 per cent share of UK clothing sales by volume, making it the second biggest seller.

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High fashion, low price: A dress from Primark's 2008 range

It has overtaken Asda's George label and is now catching up on Marks & Spencer, which has a 12 per cent market share.

Maureen Hinton, retail analyst at Verdict Research, said: "Consumers are being quite selective about what they spend their money on. They are looking for value."

While once designer brands were everything, there is now great cachet in picking up a bargain from the likes of Primark, especially with many families' budgets tightening thanks to rising bills for food, power, transport and council tax.

Primark, whose profits reached £111million for the first half of its financial year, has been the main beneficiary but rivals such as New Look, TK Maxx, George, Tesco, Zara, Matalan and H&M have also benefited.

Primark's success is based on its ability to capture the latest catwalk trends and deliver cut-price versions within a matter of weeks.

It has won fans from across the income brackets, from the poorest shoppers to celebrities and models, who have dubbed it Pradamark.

According to former Tatler editor Jane Procter: "It's either Prada or Primark. I don't see the point of shopping anywhere in between."

The surge came in a year when the opening of Primark's flagship store in London's Oxford Street triggered a near riot, despite offering the same range as the chain's other stores.

"Value clothing has become a lot more accessible and more importantly acceptable, especially with the growth of Primark and the supermarkets," said a spokesman for retail analysts Mintel.

"For many the draw of the 'buy today, wear tonight, forget next week' outfit is just irresistible."

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Primark's Oxford Street store in London's West End triggered a near riot when it opened

Primark may be catching M&S in the number of items it sells, but in terms of the value of those sales, M&S is still way ahead. It has 10.7 per cent, while Primark has 4.1 per cent.

Primark's results helped profits at its parent company Associated British Foods rise to £282million in the six months to March 1, up 5 per cent on the same period last year.

But ABF shares still fell sharply after chairman Martin Adamson warned of tough trading conditions across all the company's brands in the year ahead.

 

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