Discount retailer Primark is finally catching up with digital fashion, but why is it still taking so long?

While UK ‘fast fashion’ retailer Primark has in the past had a reputation for being somewhat of a digital laggard - no e-commerce, just stores philosophy, as recently as 2021 - it has post-COVID been playing a tentative game of catch-up, with new websites, the long-overdue introduction of click-and-collect, and, soon it seems, a decent mobile app.

It is worth noting that across parent company Associated British Foods (ABF), CapEx of around £100 million this year has been allocated to technology spend, including automation to drive efficiency in supply chain and new ERP systems to strengthen efficiency and decision-making in the businesses. So can Primark now be moved across to the techno-phile column?

Up to a point, it seems, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty, not least around who will lead the firm into its future and what form that future will take. There’s open talk of spinning off ...