For every £10 spent at a UK Primark store a further £3.60 is spent in other stores, restaurants and cafes, boosting high street spend by £1.5bn a year, according to a new report.
New research conducted by research consultancy Public First shows Primark contributes £2.6bn a year to the UK economy.
First seen by Retail Week, the findings come as part of Primark’s first ever impact report in its 50-year history.
The report also shows that the brand, deemed an “anchor” of the UK high street, drives footfall to high streets more generally, with more than 2.3 million people citing Primark as their “main reason” for visiting their local shops.
Primark said the report, which looks at its impact on the UK economy and communities, was commissioned to help the retailer “deepen” its understanding of the impact its stores have on the high streets.
Based on a sample of 2,000 adults in the UK, it also found that 82% of people said their local high street was important for “local pride” while 84% said “more should be done to support the health of UK high streets”.
Primark chief executive Paul Marchant said: “There is no doubt that high streets up and down the country are facing unprecedented challenges right now.
“If we want high streets to thrive and succeed, we need organisations, businesses and government to come together to tackle these challenges.
“We’re committed to playing our part and want others to join us to ensure a bright future for the UK high street. A healthy, vibrant and buzzing high street is not just good for business, it’s good for everyone.”
Primark UK retail director Kari Rodgers added: “We are proud of the role our stores play in towns and cities across the country and we know how important high streets are for local communities.
“All year round, colleagues in our stores work to support important local community initiatives that matter to them and raise thousands of pounds for good causes. We know that youth services have experienced a number of cuts over the years and so to coincide with our 50th anniversary we want to do more to support young people in the communities around our stores.
“We’re delighted to be working with UK Youth to help provide grants to grassroots youth organisations across the UK.”
This comes after Primark invested more than £100m in its UK store estate this year, which saw the opening of new stores and the improvement of existing ones.
To date, Primark has 193 stores in the UK across high streets, shopping centres and retail parks, and currently employs more than 30,000 people.
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