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George Weston is the chief executive of Associated British Foods (ABF), a £14bn British-listed conglomerate firm which, as well as owning Primark, is the parent of food businesses such as Kingsmill and Twinings, and is one of the biggest sugar producers in the world.
Speaking after ABF’s latest financial results emerged, he warned the chancellor that, while food inflation should be easing from this point onwards, businesses have had no choice but to keep passing on increased costs to customers this year.
Higher employment costs from National Insurance and minimum wage rises, rising business rates costs in some industries and lingering uncertainty over tariffs have all played a part in making the last few months difficult for UK firms – and in turn for British consumers, who ultimately have to keep footing the bill with rising prices.
“I hope consumer sentiment doesn’t take another great whack in November,” Mr Weston said. “Anything that reduces returns on investment or increases the costs of employing people [could affect consumer sentiment]”.
He also added that while Primark had endeavoured to not move prices higher for the past year, using technology to offset increased labour costs, the same couldn’t be said in other areas of the business with ABF “having to pass on much of this” to customers.
Primark is known as a lower-cost clothing brand, but even so the fact their sales have been flat this year so far will be cause for concern if used as a bellwether of sorts for the wider economy. Opening two new stores in the UK helped Primark add total sales, but like-for-like across stores the business was down slightly for the first six months of the year.
The government are prioritising growth and acknowledging they need to more to stimulate economic growth, but there has been little sustained evidence of that playing out so far this year. Economic growth data for July is due for release on Friday.
In the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), food price increases were almost universally cited by the public as the main current financial concern.
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“When asked in which ways their cost of living had increased over [August 2025], the majority of people reported that the price of their food shop had increased (96%), and over half reported increases in gas or electricity bills (55 per cent),” the ONS report read.
Even with consumer concerns over spending, though, cheaper stores will not necessarily thrive, says one financial expert.
“The idea that value retailers will automatically thrive in a period where consumers are watching their pennies no longer stacks up. Cheap prices do not mean goods will fly off the shelf, just as Primark has found out,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Sales have been poor in parts of Europe amid a weaker consumer environment. While there are green shoots in the UK, even its domestic territory isn’t firing on all cylinders.
“In the current environment, all Primark can do is make sure its stores are tidy, there is good stock availability, and pricing remains competitive. It’s a case of sitting tight and waiting for market conditions to improve.”
Shares in ABF fell more than 12 per cent on news of the company’s Wednesday financial report, before slightly rebounding 2 per cent on Thursday.
