Fancy dresses for £100 and £50 coats – why shoppers are turning their backs on Primark

FIFTY quid for a jacket, a £100 dress – it doesn't sound like Primark.

But some of the cheap-as-fries shop's recent offerings come with premium price tags.

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'Primani' customers – as they call themselves in a nod to designer label Armani – didn't seem too happy in social media posts.

One, stunned by the cost of the store's Borg-lined double-breasted coat, wrote: '50 quid for Primark? Over my dead body.”

In November the store said global sales were up 15 percent over the year to mid-September, linking it to Rita Ora.

The For You singer's two collections yielded 275 pieces.

But more expensive equipment has shoppers in an uproar.

“A £100 price tag at Primark, I never thought I'd experience it again!”, one posted, referring to a black dress Rita, 33, wore while attending the British Fashion Awards.

And someone else said of the dress: “Primark don't do Primark anymore.”

The prize dress in question was a limited edition, of which 500 were sold in store the next day.

The fashion retailer claims the $100 price tag was wrong and the item was worth $50 at checkout.

But it's still a hefty price for a thin, plain black dress.

Has our favorite budget store lost its way?

Ria Mitchell, who once admitted she spent £8,000 in the store in one year and visited every Saturday, has now fallen in love with the retailer.

“I never go there,” says the 28-year-old from Guildford, Surrey.

“It's crazy to charge £50 for a jacket. Primark shoppers want bargains.

'They don't want to pay €50 for a jacket or a chic cardigan.

“That was always the best part about it.

“But now that it's so expensive, why would I go there?

“Just look at pictures of my gray coat from three years ago: it cost £25.

'And now look: charging £50 for a jacket is nonsense. Priflation is real.”

Ria certainly has a point.

Primark first reached British shores in 1974, after great success with its parent brand Penneys in Dublin.

It now has 432 stores in 16 countries.

And the guiding principle has always been affordability, from essentials to statement pieces.

The reason the company has continued to buck the trend of failing high street stores is because it has kept its prices low.

Twenty years ago you could always get a whole outfit there for less than £30.

Fast forward to now, we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis and still striving for the same thing. In fact, we want more.

Social media means that fashion-conscious people are never seen in the same outfit twice, so they turn to budget brands like Primark to ensure they are always on trend.

Until recently, the store responded to what customers craved.

Fans are loving the thrifted favourites, including £1 thongs, £5 T-shirts and £10 ballet pumps.

The stores are among the largest in the country, with shops in Oxford Street and Birm-ingham in London, and even beauty salons for eyebrows, blow-drying and manicures.

Some stores also have Greggs eateries – the perfect combination.

Primark has its finger on the pulse: last year it released the pink Barbie range, which had phenomenal sales.

CEO George Weston said of that company: “We could have sold out the shares three times over.”

And despite some shoppers snapping up the £50 jacket, which was part of Primark's The Edit range, others loved it.

One social media user wrote: “This better be in my Primark or I'm going to cry. It's beautiful.”

But as Britons continue to tighten their belts, many who relied on Primark and supermarkets for their clothing essentials and small splurges are left unimpressed.

One pound strings

At the end of last year, Primark increased its prices by eight percent.
Supermarkets selling budget clothing lines have followed a similar trend.

George at Asda's Studio Edit range included a £55 blazer, while Marks & Spencer had £200 silver trousers and a £279 cropped leather trench coat in its Autograph range last year.

There is a market for such premium items, but these stores are in danger of losing their core customers.

However, if you look at Primark, that eight percent price increase was less than the increase in the retailer's costs.

Sun Business expert Simon Read believes many businesses have had no choice but to increase their prices.

He says: “Primark may be loved for their competitive prices, but they have recently been forced to spend more on raw materials and transport.

“They are keen to protect their profits and have therefore passed on the extra costs to customers.

“That's what it comes down to: they're in business to make money, not to give us cheap clothes.”

Despite the recent increases, the average cost of a Primark item is still £5, and they continue to sell those £1 thongs.

So it's not all bad news, but many shoppers have already turned their backs.

Retail expert Lisa Talbot says: “The cost of living will play a big role in how people shop.

'Many will prefer to shop less often.

“Primark has had to increase its prices to support the decline in sales as many have tightened their belts.”

A Primark spokesperson said: “We are working hard to provide the best value on the high street, something we know is more important than ever for our customers.”

But for Ria, who works as a vet technician at a nature center, there are better places for cheap clothes.

“I don't understand who would go there,” she says.

“I imagine that many people who shop at Primark realize that you can get better bargains elsewhere.

“The only place I go now is Vinted.”

On one occasion, Ria spent £292 at Primark on 20 pairs of panties, five pairs of jeans, 10 plaids, two dresses, a pair of Ugg boots, pumps and a Mrs Potts teapot.

So for her to leave all that behind was a huge turnaround.

She says: “I stopped by at Christmas but that was it.

“But I love Vinted. You get a Next dress or River Island skirt for a quarter of the price of a Primark jacket.”

Ria's job means she needs clothes that are disposable, and she says: “Vinted is basically a flea market, so if I get a pair of jeans torn up by a fox, it doesn't matter.

“Three years ago I never thought I would say I was no longer in love with Primark. But I did, and I'm not alone.”

The price of this is still correct

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