Sital Nakarja exits Primark and lands at AllSaints as Merchandising Innovation Head

Sital Nakarja is starting a new position as Head of Merchandising Innovation at AllSaints. She joins from Primark, where she spent just over four years, serving as System Implementation Lead - Buying & Merchandising.

Primark

Primark delivered modest sales growth in the 16 weeks to 3rd January, with constant currency sales rising a timid 1%, as performance fell slightly short of the retailer's expectations in a challenging apparel market.

Overall sales growth was driven by continued international store expansion leading to an uneven regional performance; group like-for-like (l-f-l) sales declined 2.7%, reflecting pressures on consumer demand.

During the period, Primark increased markdowns to manage inventory levels, weighing on profitability, and the group now expects sales growth in the first half of FY2025/2026 to be in the low single digits. If this sales trend continues, it anticipates adjusted operating profit margins to remain around 10% for the full year, broadly flat year-on-year and below historic levels of performance.

In the UK, Primark delivered relatively resilient results compared with a wider muted clothing market over the Christmas period, with constant currency sales rising 3% and l-f-l sales up 1.7%. Consumers resonated with Primark’s initiatives to strengthen its value proposition through improved product, stronger communication regarding prices and growing digital engagement through its Click and Collect and app services.

“Primark’s reporting of l-f-l sales of 1.1% in the wider UK and Ireland region shows Ireland dragged down the UK-alone l-f-l figure, underlining ongoing pressure on discretionary spend in Ireland and the limitations of a predominantly store led model in an increasingly online led market,” says Louise Deglise-Favre, Lead Apparel Analyst at GlobalData.

Outside the UK and Ireland, performance was mixed. In continental Europe, l-f-l sales declined 5.7% as consumer confidence remained weak and initiatives to improve value and engagement are still at an early stage.

In the US, constant currency sales rose 12%, though it was likely mainly driven by store expansion as trading conditions remained volatile in the wake of high tariffs and overall political tensions, impacting footfall and consumer sentiment.

Deglise-Favre says: "Primark has continued to expand its store estate internationally, including the opening of its first franchised store in Kuwait.”

“While international expansion remains an important growth lever, reliance on new space rather than l-f-l momentum highlights the need for improved underlying consumer demand if Primark wants to remain competitive against strong players such as Shein and Zara in the long-term. it should invest in impactful marketing to better broadcast its strong value for money and fashion credentials.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.