AB Foods share price: Liberum weighs in after Primark store opening

Liberum has weighed in on Associated British Foods’ (LON:ABF) Primark, after the fashion chain’s biggest store opened its doors in Birmingham yesterday. Proactive Investors quoted the broker as commenting that the company was “giving shoppers what they want”.

AB Foods’ share price slipped marginally in the previous session, giving up 0.12 percent to close at 2,511.00p, marginally underperforming the FTSE 100. The shares have given up about 2.5 percent of their value over the past year, as compared with about a two-percent gain in the Footsie.

Liberum weighs in on Primark

Proactive Investors quoted Liberum analyst Robert Waldschmidt as commenting yesterday that Primark was “giving shoppers what they want,” offering cheap prices, keeping  trends fresh by frequently rolling out new clothing ranges and giving store managers an opportunity to tailor their shelves with products which are most popular in their local area.

The comments came after the chain’s biggest store opened in Birmingham yesterday. The BBC reported that the store occupies the entire site of a former shopping centre, covering 161,000 sq ft over five floors, and comes complete with a Disney-themed cafe, a barber’s shop and beauty studio. The newswire further noted that the development is thought to have cost about £70 million.

“The whole idea is to create dwell time,” Liberum’s Waldschmidt pointed out, as quote by Proactive Investors, adding that it is a “way of driving more gross profit to the till”.

Other analysts on AB Foods

The 18 analysts offering 12-month price targets for AB Foods for the Financial Times have a median target of 2,800.00p on the shares, with a high estimate of 3,400.00p and a low estimate of 2,100.00p. As of April 5, the consensus forecast amongst 23 polled investment analysts covering the Primark owner has it that the company will outperform the market.