Primark opens at Centre:MK, was brand most wanted by mall shoppers

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 17, 2019

The Primark headlines may have been largely about its mega-sized opening in Birmingham this month, but the company is continuing to open stores elsewhere and has just opened at Centre:MK in Milton Keynes.

Joint owners of the mall, Hermes Investment Management and AustralianSuper, said the 75,000 sq ft store has set a record for Centre:MK, being the biggest store to open there in a quarter of a century.

Shopper exit surveys had shown that Primark was the most in-demand potential tenant for the mall so it was something of a no-brainer to go after the brand. And its arrival certainly fills a gap for ultra-value fashion, as well as occupying a large empty space that had once been home to failed BHS.

Located on Silbury Arcade, the new store features larger shopping aisles as part of Primark’s new store format, and showcases the entire range of womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and homewares.

Centre:MK’s ability to attract a tenant as in-demand as Primark also underlines the changes happening at UK shopping centres as the big names continue to sign up the more dynamic international brands while smaller malls struggle to attract the kind of tenants that would help to lure more shoppers through their doors.

The owners said that the Milton Keynes property saw its footfall growing above the national average last year with close to 25 million shopper visits in 2018.

Speaking on behalf of the owners, Ed Sellick said that the opening of Primark is “a huge milestone and highlights the dedication to our strategy of ‘reimagining an icon’ that has seen over £60 million investment across the shopping destination since 2016.”