Business
Can Primark stay relevant, or is Shein taking over?
BBCPrimark has long been a staple of UK high streets, luring in shoppers with low-priced clothes, accessories and homeware.
But in its UK and Ireland stores, like-for-like sales – a key metric in the retail industry – were down 3.1% in the year to September, which it attributed to a “weak” consumer environment and fewer people buying winter clothes during last year’s mild autumn.
As online stores like Shein and Vinted continue to attract young shoppers, does Primark face a fight to remain relevant – or is it just fine?
“While the UK clothing market is seeing subdued growth, Primark has significantly underperformed the overall market,” says Tamara Sender-Ceron, an associate director at market-research agency Mintel, adding that it faces “increased competition”.
Some shoppers point out that online marketplaces like Shein and Temu have even lower prices, a huge range of products, and – crucially – home delivery, something Primark lacks.
At Primark’s biggest London store on Oxford Street, which BBC News visited this week, Serena Milius has just popped in with her 12-year-old daughter to look at pyjamas, socks and the new Stranger Things range.
Serena used to do most of her shopping at Primark – until Shein took over.
“Shein’s our main thing,” the 34-year-old finance manager from Tooting, south-west London, says.
She says her wardrobe is now 90% Shein, and goes to Primark for “little bits and bobs” like flipflops, candles, socks and cosmetics dupes.
Serena MiliusOthers tell the BBC they’d rather splash out on better-quality products. This includes Martha, a 23-year-old student in Leeds, who only shops at Primark for basics like T-shirts, socks, underwear and cotton buds. For other items, she turns to Weekday, Zara and independent shops.
“I like to buy more expensive items that I’m going to wear over the years,” she tells the BBC as she browses clothes in a Primark store with her mum. With Primark, “it’s not always a lasting item,” she says.
The store was busy when the BBC visited on a late Wednesday afternoon, with mainly female shoppers browsing alone or in pairs. Some said they’d gone out of their way to visit, others popping in after finding themselves in the area.
Some say they’re deterred by Primark’s huge, sprawling stores which can sometimes get very busy.
“I do not enjoy shopping in a Primark,” says Abbi Lily, a 24-year-old content creator from near Bournemouth. She describes the experience as “very overwhelming” and “overstimulating” and says it can be “impossible” to find things.
Abbi LilyShe used to buy most of her clothes from Primark, but feels it isn’t as cheap as it used to be. “They just don’t have the bargains as much anymore,” she says, echoing comments some other shoppers made to the BBC.
Though Abbi sometimes shops at Shein, she’s trying to become more “intentional” with her shopping and buy more second-hand items, including through Vinted and Depop.
A Primark spokesperson told BBC News that 85% of its products were £10 or under, and said it “continually benchmarks” its prices against competitors.
Shein uses AI to identify trends and launch “thousands of new styles daily”, says Ms Sender-Ceron at Mintel.
According to a survey by Mintel in May, 46% of UK women aged 16 to 34 had bought fashion items from Shein in the last 12 months.
It has held pop-up shops in London and this week opened its first permanent physical shop in a department store in Paris, with long queues of people waiting to get their hands on cut-price garments.
“You can buy anything from Shein,” said one shopper waiting in the French capital to visit on its opening day. “It’s such a cool thing for people my age who are struggling in this economy.”
Critics point to the environmental impact of fast fashion and working conditions in its factories. At the Paris launch, protestors gathered outside calling for a boycott of the brand.
Firas Abdullah/Anadolu via Getty ImagesShould Primark offer delivery?
With Shein specialising in delivering clothes to your door, Primark does offer click-and-collect services in its nearly 200 UK stores – but not deliveries.
Some high-street retailers have been struggling in the UK, but Primark has largely bucked the trend – it’s closing a store in Dartford, Kent, next year, which reports say will be its first store closure in a decade. It also opened dedicated Primark Home stores in Belfast and Manchester.
Primark relies on its customers shopping in bulk, Mr Stevenson says. “You might be going in for one thing, but you end up buying seven things that you hadn’t really thought about,” he says. This doesn’t happen as much with online shopping, he says.
Would Primark’s sales be boosted if it did offer delivery? Mr Stevenson is sceptical, saying “it doesn’t feel like they’re losing out by not doing that”, but that it could be an option in future.
“If you wanted to buy a couple of things from Primark for £5 each, are you going to pay 50% of that in delivery charge?” he asks. “Because buying £10 of stuff is going to cost me £5 to get it tomorrow.”
Primark’s spokesperson said that its online model was a “deliberate choice to streamline operations and pass the savings directly to customers”.
Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThough Primark’s like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland are down, “I absolutely don’t think they’re doing badly,” says Mr Stevenson, the Peel Hunt analyst. Its UK and Ireland market share has grown, according to data from market-research company Kantar.
And its total sales globally in the year to September were up 1% compared to the previous year as it opened more stores in Europe and the US.
For some shoppers, Primark will always have a hold on them. “I absolutely love Primark,” says Khloe Lightholder, a 34-year-old childcare worker from Essex.
She says Primark is “actually quite good quality for the price” and she visits every few months for a couple of hours, usually spending £200 or more on shoes, bags, perfume and homeware. She sets herself a monthly budget, “but every time I go to Primark that budget is out of the window”.
How much of a threat Shein and other budget retailers pose is an ongoing challenge, but it doesn’t feel like Primark’s brown shopping bags will disappear from our high streets any time soon.
Indians sharply cut back on overseas travel spending in March, with remittances for foreign trips dropping by more than $212 million from the previous month, according to Reserve Bank of India data. The fall in outbound travel expenditure came amid rising oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict and persistent pressure on rupee, even as travel remained the single largest component of outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).In March, travel-related remittances fell to $1.09 billion from $1.3 billion in February and $1.65 billion in January. The decline came at a time when the West Asia conflict pushed oil prices higher and weakened rupee to record lows. Amid the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to cut down on foreign travel and adopt measures such as carpooling. Lower overseas travel spending could reduce foreign exchange outflows and help ease pressure on rupee.According to the RBI’s data on outward remittances by resident individuals, travel continued to account for the largest share of money sent abroad under the LRS in March. Total remittances during the month stood at $2.59 billion.The RBI tracks overseas spending across categories including travel, studies abroad, maintenance of close relatives, overseas investments, and property purchases. Under the LRS framework, resident individuals, including minors, can remit up to $250,000 in a financial year for permitted current or capital account transactions.Within the travel segment, the biggest component remained the ‘other travel’ category, which covers holiday spending and international credit card settlements. Indians spent $623.05 million under this category in March, accounting for nearly 57 per cent of total travel-related remittances during the month.Expenditure linked to education travel, including hostel and fee payments, stood at $450.16 million. Business travel, pilgrimage, and overseas medical treatment together accounted for $21.39 million.The data also showed a rise in remittances meant for the maintenance of close relatives abroad. Such transfers increased to $389.78 million in March from $266.18 million in February.At the same time, spending under the ‘studies abroad’ category declined. This category includes payments made for educational services accessed remotely without travelling overseas, such as correspondence courses. Remittances under this head stood at $151.71 million in March, compared to $175.68 million in February and $267.42 million in January.For the financial year 2024-25, Indians remitted a total of $29.56 billion under the LRS. Travel made up the largest portion of this amount at $16.96 billion.The RBI figures further showed that investments by Indians in overseas equity and debt instruments rose significantly to $440.22 million in March from $265.99 million in February.Meanwhile, outward remittances for the purchase of immovable property overseas declined to $38.68 million in March, down from $51.36 million a month earlier.
Business
Stock market this week: Middle East tensions, oil prices, FII flows & more — what will guide Dalal Street
Dalal Street is heading into the new trading week with global uncertainty firmly in focus, as investors keep a close watch on the evolving situation in the Middle East, fluctuations in crude oil prices and the behaviour of foreign investors. Analysts said that sentiment is likely to remain fragile and heavily influenced by developments in negotiations between the United States and Iran, while movements in the rupee, global equities and the US dollar are also expected to shape market direction in the days ahead.Trading activity during the week is also expected to be shaped by the rupee’s movement against the US dollar, while investors continue to assess the impact of global uncertainty on risk appetite. Markets will remain closed on Thursday for Bakri Id.A key trigger for sentiment emerged over the weekend after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations between Washington and Tehran had shown some progress, raising expectations that the ongoing conflict in West Asia could move closer to resolution.Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said investors would closely track developments tied to crude oil, global currencies and bond markets. “This week is expected to remain highly sensitive to global macroeconomic developments and currency movements. Investors will also monitor crude oil prices, developments in US-Iran negotiations, and the trajectory of the US dollar and bond yields, all of which are expected to influence foreign flows and overall risk appetite,” he said.Apart from geopolitical developments, the Reserve Bank’s decision to transfer a record Rs 2.87 lakh crore dividend to the government for the year ended March 2026 is also expected to remain in focus. The announcement comes at a time when rising import costs and supply chain pressures linked to the West Asia conflict continue to weigh on the economy.According to Mishra, market participants are expected to evaluate how the RBI payout could affect liquidity conditions, fiscal flexibility and government spending in the months ahead.Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said market behaviour in the coming sessions is expected to remain sensitive to fresh headlines surrounding diplomatic negotiations and oil prices. “Markets are expected to remain volatile and heavily headline-driven in the coming week, with investor attention firmly focused on developments surrounding the US–Iran situation, broader diplomatic negotiations and movements in crude oil prices,” he said.“While hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough and easing geopolitical tensions have improved sentiment modestly, investors continue to remain cautious as uncertainty surrounding the final outcome of the negotiations remains elevated,” Ponmudi added.He further said investors are expected to watch institutional flows, global equity trends, macroeconomic indicators and the rupee for further market cues. “With global uncertainty still elevated, market participants are likely to remain selective and cautious despite the recent improvement in sentiment,” he said.Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said markets would require stronger support factors to build a more constructive setup. According to him, a meaningful decline in crude oil prices, steady foreign institutional investor flows and stable Q1FY27 earnings expectations without major downgrades would be important for sustained momentum.In the previous week, the BSE benchmark index rose 177.36 points, or 0.23%, while the NSE Nifty advanced 75.8 points, or 0.32%.
Reforms are needed of the welfare system to tackle the high numbers of young people not in work or education, says Alan Milburn.
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