Primark warns against buying its goods online

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 16, 2019

Primark has warned shoppers that any Primark products found online are being sold by third parties who might be charging more than the value retailer.

Primark has denied reports that it has started selling on Amazon, remaining decidedly against the prevailing trend of selling online as well as in store.

“We do not have a commercial partnership with Amazon and any Primark products which appear on the site are being re-sold by third parties, at higher prices,” the British company, which is owned by Associated British Foods, said on Twitter.

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“We encourage our customers to visit us in our stores to find the best value.”

While almost every other high street fashion brand has jumped on the online shopping bandwagon to offer customers more ways to buy products, Primark has remained loyal to physical retailing, investing in large format stores in 12 countries to run its business.

The strategy has paid off for the Irish chain, which in 2018 overtook Next and M&S as the UK’s largest clothing retailer by market share.

Primark is famous for its low values, selling t-shirts for as little a £1. In November last year, the company’s head of ethical trade and environmental sustainability Paul Lister was asked to justify how the retailer manages to keep its prices so low in front of MPs.

Lister said Primark saves up to £150 million a year by choosing not to advertise its lines.