Primark pulls home delivery launch forward two years as profits fall 10%

Primark will start home deliveries in the UK by December next year, bringing the launch forward by about two years, after profits slid 10% to £1bn. George Weston, chief executive of owner Associated British Foods (ABF), announced the accelerated timetable as the budget fashion chain scrambles to reach shoppers it has never served.

The speed-up hinges on one concrete deal: Primark snapped up a robot-assisted warehouse in Sheffield from Debenhams, the owner of Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and Karen Millen. Primark takes over the site by the middle of next year. It is now preparing suppliers to provide stock suitable for sending to individual shoppers, not just the bulk orders its stores receive.

What changes for shoppers?

Primark already runs a click-and-collect service in the UK, rolled out gradually since 2022. Home delivery is the bigger step, and mainland Europe will follow the UK launch — though no timeframe has been set for the continent, where click and collect is not available at all. The chain operates 511 stores across 21 countries, meaning a large share of its addressable market currently has no digital route to its products.

The reversal is notable. Primark has previously said it could not make money selling fashion for home delivery. Weston argued the economics have shifted: delivery and returns charges that cover most logistical costs are now common across the industry. He also pointed to internal research suggesting online sales would attract genuinely new customers rather than swap profitable in-store purchases for less profitable online ones.

"We now know there's a group of shoppers who don't reject Primark but just don't use us very often as they are too far away from a store or prefer to shop online," Weston said.

Why is Primark under pressure?

Sales tell the story of a business growing only by expansion. Group revenue at Primark rose 4% to £9.8bn in the year to 12 September, led by new store openings. But established UK stores grew just 0.5%, established stores in mainland Europe slumped 4.7%, and US same-store sales fell 2.6%. Shoppers reined in clothing spending as higher energy and fuel bills squeezed household budgets.

Primark credited its UK performance to improved ranges, price cuts and more marketing. Those same tactics are now being rolled out across Europe — but that spending is precisely what drove profits down 10% to £1bn. Growth, in other words, is being bought rather than organic, and the cost is visible in the margin.

Competition is intensifying on two fronts. Cut-price online specialists such as Shein, plus supermarket clothing ranges and the likes of H&M and Zara, all sell online and in stores. Weston insisted Shein was taking no more than a "little bit" of market share from Primark, arguing the greater threat comes from rivals that can mix online and physical retail — a capability Primark itself is now racing to build.

What comes next?

A structural milestone looms: ABF intends to spin off Primark in December 2027, separating it from the sugar and food business that includes Twinings teas, Blue Dragon flavourings and Jordans cereals. A standalone Primark will need a proven digital operation before then, not a promise of one. The Sheffield warehouse and the December 2026 delivery deadline are the first testable markers of whether that transition can deliver growth without eroding the profitability the chain has just sacrificed.