Why Primark Looks Set To Steal The High Street Crown From M&S

The budget retailer sees a record surge in sales as competitor M&S's profits takes a tumble

Primark is proving its prowess on the high-street after a hugely successful year of booming sales and profits, placing it firmly on the map one of M&S' new biggest retail rivals.

The fast-fashion brand, known for its cheap and cheerful garments, novelty onesies and formidably quick stock turnaround, now boasts 161 UK stores and more than 100 overseas in Ireland, Spain, Portugal and France. 13 store openings have also just been planned in time for this Christmas.

Following a stormingly successful year, Primark is now sitting pretty after seeing annual profits jump by 44% to £514 million along with a 22% rise in revenues to £4.27bn.

But while the budget fashion chain is seeing record sales and financial success at every turn, it's an entirely different story for Britain's biggest clothing retailer, M&S.

Despite a high-profile advertising campaign featuring stars such as Tracey Emin, Ellie Goulding, and Dame Helen Mirren, the upmarket high-street favourite is dealing with an 8.9% drop in pre-tax profits, while clothing and homewares sales are down in the UK by 1.5%.

All eyes are now on the pivotal October to December quarter, with M&S due to air its star-studded Christmas advert on TV screens today during the Coronation Street ad break.

Will M&S

Got a tablet? You can now download Marie Claire magazine straight to your iPad, Kindle (just search the store for 'marie claire magazine'), Nook or Google Nexus.