Penney's will not be hiking up prices this Christmas at Letterkenny outlet

Penney’s have vowed not to increase prices on any of its items as the Christmas period approaches.

Letterkenny Shopping Centre has one of Ireland’s 36 stores, and Primark, which is owned by Associated British Foods, this week in their financial reports said they face "substantial and volatile" cost inflation.

However, despite these rising costs, the decision has been made not to hit customers in the pocket as the company continues to roll out its trial digital strategy, which enables online purchasing. The retailer has reassured customers that costs will not go up any more than already planned - until next summer at the earliest.

"We have decided to hold prices for the new financial year at the levels already implemented and planned and to stand by our customers, rather than set pricing against these highly volatile input costs and exchange rates," said Chief Executive George Weston.

“Sales, margin and profits at Primark increased significantly as more normal customer behaviour resumed after the pandemic. Significant progress was made in building out Primark’s digital capability, which will be a key element in the future development of Primark.”

Despite rising costs, it was a strong financial year for AB Foods - which also includes British Sugar, which makes sugar from sugar beets and grows medical cannabis. The business said revenue jumped by more than a fifth to £17bn in their end of year reports, which ran to September 17, as pre-tax profit increased by nearly half to £1.1bn.