The boss of Primark's parent group said the retailer is struggling to find a way to sell its clothes online after a trial with Asos earlier this year.
George Weston, chief executive of Associated British Foods, told the Independent newspaper: 'The trial has ended and we are exploring our options. But as you can imagine, the margins are so small that it can be difficult to sell a £3 T-shirt when you're spending the same amount just to ship it.'
Primark relaunched its website last week, as we reported on November 2. The community-style site focuses on product and interaction with shoppers and there is no e-commerce facility.
Weston appeared to say that he didn't see the defensive value in selling low priced clothes online because internet retailers were not able to compete with its prices.
He told Drapers magazine: 'I think we can compete on the high street with others selling online. Our business model is not being undercut by cheap clothes on the internet.'
Primark said this week that sales rose 22 per cent to £4.27 billion and pre-tax profit increased 44 per cent to £514 million.
Asos chief executive Nick Robertson, whose firm undertook a trial selling Primark clothes online over summer, said last month that the results of the trial were still under review.
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