Primark has substantially enlarged its intu Merry Hill store by more than 70 per cent, as the retailer extends its flagship store into the former BHS unit.
Primark will be the latest major tenant to upsize at intu Merry Hill following Topshop, River Island and JD Sports. Next also launched one of its biggest UK stores at intu Merry Hill earlier this year and is trading well ahead of expectations.
Nick Round, regional managing director at intu, said: “Primark is a fantastic example of how we’re repositioning underperforming retail space to bring in new and exciting brands or alternatives. At a time when retail is suffering from negative sentiment, this significant investment by Primark demonstrates not only their commitment to intu Merry Hill but also to physical retail.”
At 1.7m sq ft, intu Merry Hill is already a major super regional shopping and leisure destination and one of the largest shopping centres in the UK, attracting 21 million visitors a year. The centre continues to appeal to brands, with recent new store openings including Timberland, Neon Sheep and Typo, providing greater choice and variety for customers. Footlocker, Sports Direct and Flannels will also open new or expanded stores later this year.
intu Merry Hill was recently named a top 10 UK shopping centre by data analytics company GlobalData, ranking 8 from a list of 50 centres, one of eight intu shopping centres in the UK’s top 20.