Primark to invest 100 million euros in Spanish store estate in next two years

Fast fashion giant Primark is injecting a further 100 million euros into its Spanish store fleet.

Eighty million euros will be spent on opening at least eight new stores and one store extension over the next two years, while the remaining 20 million euros will go towards upgrades and refurbishments in other stores.

The investment will result in at least 1,000 new jobs, bringing its total workforce in Spain to 10,000, Primark said when announcing the news on Tuesday.

The retailer has opened three new stores in Spain in the last 12 months, in San Sebastian, San Fernando, and Girona.

Primark opened its first Spanish store in Madrid in 2006. Fast forward to today and is the company’s second biggest market behind the UK.

Carlos Inacio, the director general of Primark Spain, said in a statement: “This exciting expansion plan will create employment, positively impact the local communities we are opening in and bring Primark stores closer to our customers across Spain.”

The news comes fresh on the heels of Primark’s announcement last week that it would be investing 140 million pounds into its UK store estate over the next two years, which it said would create at least 850 new jobs.

Primark was hit hard during the pandemic as it had no online channels to offset lost sales through the closure of its physical stores.

But the retailer has rebounded strongly since economies have reopened.

In its most recent year ended September 17, the company reported a 43 percent year-over-year increase in adjusted sales to 7.7 billion pounds.

Its adjusted operating profit widened to 756 million pounds from 321 million pounds a year earlier.