Primark’s operating profit has soared by more than 300 per cent in the past decade ALAMYIt’s a curious fact that the largest — and best-performing — company in the Associated British Foods (ABF) group doesn’t manufacture anything you can eat or drink. Primark, the Irish-born discount clothing giant whose operating profit has soared by more than 300 per cent in the past decade, is riding to this particular conglomerate’s rescue at a time when British consumer spending is the weakest in four years. For the bargain-basement sector, where clothes are cheap and stores vast, Britain’s economic slowdown provides the perfect conditions for an uptick in sales — and Primark’s international expansion is gathering pace. Primark’s success is a considerable relief for ABF because the other 20 per cent of the conglomerate (the bit that involves food) isn’t as easy to…

Source: The Times September 15, 2017 23:03 UTC