PRIMARK chief executive Paul Merchant has sent a message to shoppers as the retailer welcomes back customers to its 161 stores in England and Wales today, as consumers make a much-anticipated return to the high street.

Safety remains Primark’s number one priority so employees and customers can return to stores with confidence, maintaining the high safety standards in place in stores over the past year.

Primark will have extended store opening hours this week initially, with stores opening for two hours extra per day on average.

This will help reduce queues, spread demand and give customers more time to shop safely. Customers should check their local store opening hours on our website here.

Primark CEO, Paul Marchant, said: “We are thrilled to open our doors today and welcome customers back to Primark.

“We have been working really hard to get our stores ready to open safely; we are fully stocked with everything our customers have been waiting for, from fresh new season fashion to our great value, everyday must-haves, all at our amazing prices.

“Safety is our top priority for re-opening, and we ask our customers to continue supporting us and be mindful of our in-store measures, in particular if queuing outside and in-store.”

He added: “We are expecting a busy few days and have increased opening hours across our stores for the first week initially, to reduce queues and help meet demand safely.”

To coincide with the reopening of non-essential stores, Primark has released a fresh new Spring/Summer collections ready and waiting to be snapped up.

Highlights include its new season womenswear collections, starring relaxed tailoring looks in gelato-inspired tones, denim in candy pastels and bold gingham prints while menswear’s essentials get a summer refresh featuring cool new shirts, and easy to wear everyday shorts and tees.

Customers will also have chance to check out the new Primark Cares featuring Disney range as well as the ever-popular kidswear summer styles.

It is not just a new fashion range Primark has promised shoppers, homewares, beauty and accessories have all had a new season update at the low prices Primark customers have come to expect.