Primark cuts prices as it feels pressure from Shein and Temu
“Primark isn’t that cheap anymore.”
This is something shoppers keep saying when I ask them if they shop at the fast fashion giant.
“It’s definitely gotten more expensive,” says 19-year-old student Eshal Malik as he browses jewelery at Primark with a friend.
But this may be about to change. Primark said on Monday it was cutting prices on hundreds of clothing items, including jeans, jumpers and socks.
“This is the kind of headline you’d expect from M&S or Next,” says retail analyst Natalie Berg, explaining that such price cuts from such a low-cost retailer are surprising.
“You don’t want to participate in a race to the bottom,” he says. “But if Shein is selling dresses for £3, you have to pay for that, right?”
Primark, which has more than 190 stores in the UK, is experiencing a decline in like-for-like sales, a key measure in the retail industry.
The announcement of the price cuts comes ahead of parent company Associated British Foods’ plan to float the business on the London stock exchange next year.
Berg says the level of competition between fashion retailers has “improved significantly” over the past few years, with Chinese online marketplaces Shein and Temu now competing for Primark’s customers.
But he says there is also competition from other online retailers such as TikTok Shop and Vinted.
Berg says Primark is hoping to woo shoppers with low-cost staples by dropping prices on some essential items, possibly in the same way supermarkets attract customers with cheap milk and bananas.
