Fashion retailer Penneys has introduced price reductions on hundreds of products across its clothing lines after research it commissioned found nearly half of Irish shoppers spend “more carefully than they did two years ago”.
Price reductions as high as 29 per cent on certain products sold by Primark, as it is known outside Ireland, have been implemented in the 19 countries it operates in across Europe, the Middle East and the United States, the company said.
The retailer is highlighting reductions on women’s wear, men’s wear and children’s wear items.
Eoin Tonge, who was appointed chief executive in March, said: “For more than 57 years Primark has made fashion accessible to millions of people. Affordable prices are our DNA.
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“Primark’s growing scale allows us to keep investing in the prices customers know us for, while also improving the products they buy every day. We want our customers to benefit from that scale,” he said.
The retailer’s chief customer officer, Matt Houston, said: “We want to continue to lead the way in shaping what accessible fashion looks like and reinforce customer confidence in Penneys as the ‘go-to’ for the very best prices without compromising on style or on quality.”
Figures released earlier this month by Associated British (AB) Foods, which owns Primark, showed that although the company’s revenue increased by 3 per cent in the last quarter, its like-for-like sales dropped by 2.2 per cent.
In April, AB Foods announced it would demerge the fashion retailer from the rest of its food business by the end of next year, with shareholders ultimately holding shares in separate listed entities.
Monday’s decision to reduce prices follows research commissioned by Primark and conducted by 3Gem last month that involved a sample of 1,000 participants across Ireland.
It found 47 per cent of Irish shoppers “are spending more carefully than they did two years ago” and 83 per cent believe “getting good value when buying clothes has become more important”.
Up to 34 per cent of Irish shoppers “are waiting for discounts and promotions more often”, with 31 per cent “prioritising essentials more than before,” Primark said.
