The CEO of Primark, Paul Marchant, has called on the UK government for more support to “revitalise British high streets” and “restore a lost sense of community” for its shoppers.
Speaking at the World Retail Conference in Barcelona, the boss of the high street retailer said the government should play a more active role in making the high street more vibrant, lively and safe environments for people to enjoy shopping again.
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“I think relationships with the government are better now than they were pre-Covid,” Marchant said.
“But, the more that we can do to work together with national and local government, local authorities, to make shopping a better, safer, more fun experience for everybody, the better.
“We’ve seen antisocial behaviour increasing significantly and people who feel unsafe to go out on some high streets.”
Instead, he spoke of the importance of re-establishing some of the “core principles” which made the UK high street essential to communities.
The CEO of the retailer, which has over 420 stores, and has recently extended its click-and-collect trial, added: “While we don’t have a transactional website beyond a small trial, we are very socially connected, with a strong community who want to communicate with us.
“I am very proud of our bricks and mortar”, he concluded.
Image credit: Shutterstock
