High Wycombe’s new Primark store officially opened in the town with more than 1,000 people entering the store within the first two hours.

The branch, which had sat at the Chiltern Shopping Centre for 16 years, moved a short distance to the Eden Centre, with there being a fan fair unveiling.

Customers queued for well over one hour to visit the vicinity which opened at 10am, where they were greeted with flags, a guard of honour from sale assistants, and loud music from a DJ.

Andrew Norton, Centre Director at Eden Shopping Centre, shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming opening: “We’re thrilled to welcome Primark to its new home at Eden Shopping Centre.

“The move marks another step in High Wycombe’s regeneration, reinforcing Eden’s position as the region’s leading shopping destination.

 The new Primark store will provide our visitors with an even better shopping experience, featuring a wider range of products and modern conveniences like self-checkouts and family-friendly fitting rooms, as well as expanding Eden’s menswear offering.

“We can’t wait to see our community enjoying everything this vibrant new store has to offer.”

The store replaced the outgoing House of Fraser which departed the town in January 2023, however, discussions and planning to move Primark out of the Chilterns have been taking place for roughly six years.

The new Wycombe store represents an investment of £5m in the locality and forms part of the retailer’s £100 million investment in its UK store estate this year.

This comes as Primark continues to celebrate 50 years on the Great British High Street after first opening its doors in September 1974 in Derby.

All 82 store colleagues, plus 12 managers, have moved from the nearby Chilterns Shopping Centre which has closed on September 10, a few weeks short of its 16th birthday, as the previous shop opened on October 1, 2008.

The old unit is expected to be turned into flats as part of the town’s three-part regeneration scheme.

The new Primark High Wycombe measures 29,500 sq. ft across one floor, and will include customers’ favourites across fashion, accessories, beauty, lifestyle, and homeware items.

Visitors to Primark High Wycombe will enjoy an enhanced shopping experience with new features such as new LED lighting, updated fixtures and fittings, 12 self-checkouts alongside six serviced tills and 17 fitting rooms including family and accessible options.

One of Primark’s marketing managers, Scott Brown, said: “We have trend rooms and they are typically updated every four weeks or so, and there is no surplus stock.

“Everything sells as the turnaround of our stock is very quick.”

The store is now open for customers to visit and shop in.