SALES UP 4.5% FOR BUDGET CHAIN

FAST fashion giant Primark outshone its rivals in style after backing the high street with new stores.

This meant Primark’s global sales rose 4.5% in the 16 weeks to January 4.

Analysts reckon sales in UK stores opened at least a year dipped 0.5%, better than the marketwide 1-2% decline.

“Trading was particularly good over November and December,” said Primark owner Associated British Foods.

ABF finance boss John Bason said the Monday before Christmas was “a blowout – it was huge. In a number of stores, records were broken”.

The upbeat update contrasts with those from many rivals which reported tough festive trading. N Brown, owner of fashion firms Simply Be and Jacamo, yesterday slashed its profit forecasts.

Primark’s performance is all the more impressive as it doesn’t sell clothes online, using the internet to plug ranges instead.

This includes big-selling, cut-price beauty products and tie-ups with film and TV hits, including a fashion collection with Netflix series Stranger Things.

Bason, 62, responded to criticism that some people get too many clothes they soon throw away and should really buy secondhand. “Primark has been an enabler for ordinary people to buy clothes they not only need, but to have a bit of fun,” he said. “I am old enough to remember when we struggled to buy a couple of basic items.”

ABF, a sprawling multinational that makes everything from Twinings tea and Silver Spoon sugar to agricultural ingredients, saw group sales rise 4% over the 16 weeks.

SUCCESS Oxford Street store