Primark sales squeezed by cut-price competitors

The new year started with a shower of glitter for Primark as the discount fashion chain, which trades as Penneys in Ireland, was named by Vogue as one of the unlikely hits of 2005 alongside singer Pete Doherty and vital accessories such as boho skirts.

But being named as one of last season's hottest items can be a backhanded compliment when it comes from fickle fashionistas, and the Vogue endorsement has proven a mixed blessing for the chosen few.

Doherty has pleaded guilty to four charges of possessing Class A drugs and is undergoing rehabilitation. Boho skirts have vanished from shop windows and the wardrobes of those in the know.

Primark is faring much better than its peers. It is adding new store space with a pace and efficiency that is impressing even its rivals. Still, figures released yesterday showing flat underlying sales in the six months since the endorsement by fashion's bible suggest the chain could be reaching the limits of its appeal to shoppers, who are inundated with offerings.

The chain has transformed the landscape of women's wear retailing in Britain, leading the charge of so-called fast-fashion by churning out imitations of catwalk clothing and must-have accessories in record time at unprecedented low prices.

This formula has seen it grab market share from rivals at an impressive rate. In the second half of last year, it posted a 12 per cent increase in like-for-like sales. This sales growth has come at the expense of discount rivals such as Matalan and larger chains such as Next, the mid-market clothing retailer, which has been suffering more than most.

Next produced its worst trading figures since 2003 in March this year. It has warned that underlying sales will be down between 3 and 6 per cent in this financial year to January 2007.

But the sales slowdown revealed by Primark yesterday was seized on by rivals and analysts as a sign of a shift in the balance of power on the high street.

Maureen Hinton, senior analyst with Verdict Research, the retail consultancy, says: "I think we were all surprised by the sales figures. It is quite surprising that they should have flat sales over the summer as value clothing tends to lend itself to this period, where for example vests and T-shirts sell well."

The analyst said that changing price architecture at large mid-market chains such as Marks and Spencer was challenging the value specialists.

"There is the resurgence of M&S that is selling high volumes at lower opening price points. People may be more likely to buy from M&S because of the inherent promise of quality and service. M&S is taking a lot of volume in the market so they have to be taking it from somewhere," she says.

A rejuvenated M&S is enjoying an increase in market share as customers who shunned it over the past few years are lured back in store with the promise of faster fashion - Limited Collection is M&S's version of on-trend lines - and cheaper items.

In the first quarter of 2006, M&S managed to increase its market share of the £40-billion-a-year (€59.28 billion) clothing market for the first time in three years, taking its share of the clothing and footwear market to 12.2 per cent, against 11.7 per cent in the same period last year, with women's wear rising from 11.2 per cent to 12.4 per cent.

Fashion editors who were quick to latch onto the rise of fast-fashion say the appeal of cheap chic has faded amid market saturation.

Vanessa Gillingham, fashion director at Condé Nast's Glamour magazine says: "I think it's like with anything great, after a while it flattens off a bit. Primark was the first to get on to the designer trend and put it into their stores and it seems that others such as George at Asda, Mark One, Tesco and Sainsbury's are all cashing in on it now and may have caught up."

Moira Beningson, retail specialist, says: "People can't keep up. We're at the point where you have to change clothes every five minutes to wear everything you can buy at these stores."

But John Bason, Primark's finance director, is relaxed about the underlying sales slowdown. "We always maintained that these very high like-for-like figures were unlikely to continue," he says, pointing out that the chain would see a huge increase in sales due to the conversion of 41 stores acquired from Littlewoods, which it bought last year.

The retailer is already preparing for the possibility its UK growth will one day hit the buffers. It opened its first store in Madrid three months ago and, Bason says, it might consider more aggressive expansion in Europe.