From 99p blouses to a fast-fashion giant: Primark’s 50 years on the UK high street

Primark now has 450 stores in 17 countries and annual sales of £9bn. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

The way we shop has changed beyond recognition over the past five decades, from the rise of online shopping to the death of department stores, not to mention spending booms and busts and a pandemic.

All of which makes Primark’s half century on the British high street, reached on Thursday, an impressive milestone.