James Warren
BRITISH retail giant Primark has announced that is to expand its Malaga flagship store to become the largest in Andalucia.
Its store in the Larios shopping complex in the centre of Malaga is to grow to a whopping 6,345 square metres over two floors.
This marks an increase of over 60% and represents an important milestone in the store’s history post COVID-19.
According to a statement by Primark Spain’s CEO, Carlos Inacio, the company is proud to announce its expansion despite massive losses due to the pandemic.
“As a company, because we rely so heavily on our stores, we were hit tremendously with the closures during the first quarter 2020,” he said.
“However it is due to our lack of online overheads and delivery costs that we can offer such quality items at such low prices.”
It is also due to this business model that they can justifiably expand their stores, even after such dramatic losses.
“We have worked hard for many years to make sure that our products are manufactured taking care of and respecting the rights of workers and the environment,” continued Inacio in a press release.
Relying solely on store purchases did however cause a headache for Primark stores across Europe, especially in Spain.
Many stores were left with millions of items of unsold stock, for which the majority had to be written off as losses.
Despite this, Inacio hopes that the investment in the Larios store begins a turnaround in the brand’s financial year.
“We are very happy to have increased the commercial space of our store in the Larios Shopping Centre to offer more incredible fashion at incredible prices to our clients in Malaga,” said Inacio.
Primark Larios opened its doors after almost two and a half months on June 3 with strict social distancing and health and safety measures in place.
Currently Primark employs 1800 staff in throughout their 11 stores in Andalucia, with their first opening in 2007 in Jerez de la Frontera.
Its largest store is situated in the centre of Birmingham, UK, with a total surface area of 14,800 square metres.
