The US is the graveyard of UK retailers, runs ancient retailing wisdom that was reinforced when Tesco fell flat on its face, and lost the thick end of $2bn, by backing a venture called Fresh & Easy a decade ago.
Primark, AB Foods’ discount clothes retailer, is actually Irish, so won’t count towards the tally even if its new US push fails. But there are at least a couple of reasons why this stateside adventure, which will take store numbers from 13 to 60 over five years, looks a more credible proposition than Tesco’s ego-driven expansion.
First, ABF opened its first Primark in the US almost five years ago and spent time tweaking the format for local tastes. The chief conclusion, perhaps counterintuitive, is that stores should be smaller than
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