CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — The European retail giant Primark had its grand opening Thursday at the Walden Galleria.
It's the first location in the Western New York region. The retail store is inside the old Sears store at the mall. It's known for its reasonable prices for trendy clothes, shoes, baby gear, and home decor.
It's something shoppers we talked to are celebrating.
"I heard great things about it. It is amazing. Living up to all expectations," shopper Stephanie Rodgers said.
Added another shopper, Diane Adams: "So far, the prices are good. You got to come down and check them out. It makes you want to shout."
Despite the excitement about the store's grand opening, data from the National Retail Federation shows sales are down this year.
That could change. Even though spending slowed in March, experts say it's still higher than this time last year. It's expected to grow by 4% to 6%.
"Consumers are buying just for need and not for want," Director of Strategic Retail Group Burt Flickinger said.
He added, "Primark is taking advantage of the worldwide market where there's too much supply chasing too little shopper demand."
Flickinger says Primark will not be affected by the NRF numbers. Since the store is self-producing and self-manufacturing, they can miss out on the extra spending. Those savings reflects the price tag, rewarding consumers with cheaper prices.
"Primark raises shopper's standards of living with design-led products, which Primark calls "wallet-friendly," Flickinger said.
The NRF broke down sales dating from last March to February. General merchandise stores saw 3% fewer sales month to month but are up year to year. Clothing and accessories trended down 1.7% month to month.
Along with a drop in electronics and appliances which fell by 2.1%.