Retail Week spoke to parent company ABF’s boss, George Weston, about consumer caution in the UK, uncertainty in the US due to tariffs, the UK’s ‘de minimis’ loophole, and what he’s looking for in a replacement for ex-Primark chief executive Paul Marchant.
Primark updated the city earlier today on its performance for the 24 weeks to March 1, 2025, which saw a decline in sales in the UK and Ireland but growth across its other key markets.
Total sales grew 1% to £4.5bn on a constant currency basis thanks to the value fashion giant’s “strong customer value proposition” and the “successful execution” of its store rollout programme, but sales in the UK and Ireland fell 4%.
While market share dipped during the period in the UK and there are other looming concerns within the market thanks to Trump’s tariff turbulence, Primark parent company ABF’s chief executive George Weston is optimistic about Primark’s future prospects both at home and overseas.
He admits that the uncertainty surrounding tariffs “makes life difficult” for the retail sector more broadly to date, but with only 5% of Primark’s total sales coming from the US and with a current store estate total of 29, he’s confident Primark can weather the storm.
Speaking to Retail Week, he talks about the cautious UK consumer, opportunities in the US despite uncertainty, and the top requirements for candidates eyeing up the role of Primark chief executive following Paul Marchant’s departure.
Are you concerned about the dip in market share and sales in the UK?
“Market share has come off a little, but compared with where we were two years ago, it is still higher. We will see what the trend is through the rest of the year, but at the moment,t we are not so worried about the market share figures in the UK.
“We think that our loss of sales, certainly in the first half, was related to caution from part of our customer base, particularly the less affluent shopper. I think people in the aftermath of the Budget stopped shopping, except for what they really needed and that was just nervousness I think, about risks to their jobs.
“A few months on, some of that fear has lessened, but with the changes to national insurance costs, I think the high street is still under a great deal of pressure.
“We [at ABF] have a significantly increased national insurance bill and we can cope with that, but I do think that the high street was asked to bear a disproportionate share of the new tax increases, which the chancellor brought forward in the Budget.”
“We feel our health as a business doesn’t depend on the removal of this loophole, but I think the high street will benefit from its removal”
Will Primark benefit from a review of the UK’s ‘de minimis’ rule?
“We certainly welcome anything that would even the tax playing field. We can compete with anyone as long as we are treated the same way, so we do welcome the review and we hope that leads to changes in the tax that is being collected from people using the de minimis loophole.
“We’ve been able to compete well with this imported product, just as we were able to compete well as online grew. Therefore, we feel our health as a business doesn’t depend on the removal of this loophole, but I think the high street will benefit from its removal.”
Do you still see opportunity for growth in the US despite the tariff uncertainty?
“We (like the US business and the recent stores) have been trading very well, notably the new stores in Texas, which was our first one there. It got off to a really good start, and we are expanding further.
“We’ve talked about getting to 60 stores over the next little while and we remain committed to it. We’re much less well known in the States than we are across Europe, but where shoppers do know us, they love us.
“The tariff rules and the tariff uncertainty make life difficult for all retailers in the States, particularly those who are heavily reliant on imports from China.
“About half of what we sell in the States comes from China, and we’re paying a very high tariff rate for those products as they now come into America. Whether in a few months time the tariff will still be 135%, in the meantime we will do what we can to defray the costs of those tariffs but not at the expense of losing out position as the most affordable clothes retailer.”
How is the search for a new chief executive going, and what are you looking for in a candidate?
“We’ll take the time that we need to get the very best candidates to come and run the business. It’s a fabulous job for a really talented retailer and I’m sure a lot of people will be interested in the position.
“Particularly with Eoin doing a very good job as interim chief executive, we’ve got the luxury of taking the time we need to get the best candidates.
“They’ve got to be a great leader—this is a business with 70,000 people and a very powerful culture, and both of those require first-rate leadership skills.
“The ideal candidate has got to be passionate about clothing, they’ve got to be passionate also about mass market retailing, and they will need to be able to manage a business which is in 17 markets already with ambitions to go beyond that. Those are some of the characteristics we are looking for.”
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