New Look for Primark

Value store Primark is set to unveil a new look when it opens at the MetroCentre in Gateshead next month.The new look is to take its store design to the next stage after opening in Leeds, Bromley and Lakeside in Kent. It will act as a basis for developing the retailer's 100,000sq ft Oxford Street store. The London flaship site is believed to include an eight-metre high glass frontage but will not open until next March.

Primark is investing £700m in 46 new outlets in the next 12 months, which sill double its UK selling space from 1.8m sq ft to 3.6m sq ft. All the stores are expected to be trading by Christmas, with the exception of the London flagship.

Like-for-like sales for the 24 weeks to March 4th, according to Draper's Record, were up 6 per cent on last year's sales. Turnover rose 18 per cent to £530m and operating profits jumped 20 per cent to £71m.

The company is in the final stages of rebuilding its distribution centre at Magna Park in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, after it was destroyed by fire last November. Its first international store will open in Madrid in Spain in May, with stock managed by its Penneys operation based in Dublin.