When the UK’s Brexit transition period ended as the bells rang out for new year in January last year, it ushered in a new era of financial transparency for international retailers that operate in the Irish market under the ultimate aegis of British managers.
Aldi Ireland, which effectively is run as a unit of the German retailer’s UK operation, was among the first to throw open its financial books for public scrutiny. Others in the industry here, such as Tesco, may yet follow. Now Primark in Ireland has gone the same way, this week filing public accounts for the first time.
Penneys’ sales of €482.2 million for the 53 weeks to the middle of September 2021 include 23 weeks of Covid-enforced closure: five weeks of pre-Christmas closure in late 2020 and the 18 weeks or so from the new year to May 10th, when its stores reopened.