Primark flies in Christmas stocks

The fire destroyed the warehouse in Lutterworth

Clothes giant Primark has flown 400 tonnes of cheap clothing into the UK for Christmas sales following a severe warehouse fire in November.

The firm used a giant Russian aircraft to bring in stock to replace the items lost in the fire at Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

The Antonov-225 flew into Nottingham East Midlands airport carrying clothing from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dhaka.

Primark's Geoff Lancaster said it took about six hours to unload the plane.

"We wanted to ensure we were in a position to take advantage of the busiest part of our sales year," Mr Lancaster, head of external relations for the firm, said.

We lost 50% of our stock in one night so we needed to act quickly Geoff Lancaster, Primark spokesman

He said the fire did have some effect on growth but added sales have "held up very well... considering how devastating the fire was."

Stock flown in over the weekend on the Antonov 225 and four other aircraft ranged from nightwear to winter coats and is being distributed to the retailer's 125 UK stores.

"The aircraft took six hours to unload as it was holding millions of garments, as many as 25,000 of each," Mr Lancaster added.

"We lost 50% of our stock in one night so we needed to act quickly," he said.

"Our stock comes by container by sea from Asia - long-haul items - so we decided to bring this shipment in by air." The company's suppliers in the Far East stepped up production to make replacements after the fire on 2 November.

The company is planning to open 47 new stores in 2006.

Primark, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc, already has more than 120 stores in the UK and Ireland.