Primark Explained

Primark Stores Limited
Trade Name:Penneys (in Ireland)
Type:Subsidiary
Industry:Retail
Founded: in Dublin, Ireland
Founder:Arthur Ryan
Hq Location:Arthur Ryan House, 22–24 Parnell Street
Hq Location City:Dublin
Hq Location Country:Ireland
Num Locations:439
Num Locations Year:2023
Key People:Paul Marchant (CEO and COO)
Revenue: £9,008 million
Revenue Year:2023
Num Employees: 76,000
Num Employees Year:2023
Parent:Associated British Foods
Footnotes:[1] [2] [3] [4]

Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland)[5] [6] is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland,[7] with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original Penneys brand is not used outside of Ireland because it is owned elsewhere by American retailer JCPenney.

History

The company's first shop, named Penneys and still in operation today, was established by Arthur Ryan in June 1969 on behalf of the Weston family (who in 1935 founded Allied Bakeries Limited, later renamed Associated British Foods) at 47 Mary Street in Dublin.[2] [8] The first major shops outside of Dublin were opened in the cities of Cork and Belfast in 1971, both under the name of Penneys.[9] [10] [11]

The company subsequently expanded outside of Ireland and into Great Britain, opening a shop in Derby in 1973.[9] By 1974, the business had 24 shops, including three in Scotland and two in England, all operating under the Penneys brand.[10] [12]

The American company, JC Penney, opposed the use of Penneys as a business name. JC Penney registered the various business names of Penneys's parent company in countries throughout Europe in order to put pressure on it to relinquish its registration of the Penneys brand, and issued proceedings disputing the use of the brand. Following an injunction granted by the High Court of England in June 1974, the two shops in England were rebranded as Primark. However, the Penneys brand continued to be used in Ireland and Scotland, and in 1975–1976, four more Penneys-branded shops were opened in Scotland and Northern Ireland.[10]

Eventually, the two companies settled their dispute. Penneys/Primark agreed that from 27 August 1976 onward, it would only use the Penneys brand in the Republic of Ireland, with its shops elsewhere, including in Northern Ireland, to be rebranded as Primark. In exchange, JC Penney agreed to relinquish its registration of the various business names of Primark's parent companies throughout Europe, and agreed not to trade under the Penneys brand in the Republic of Ireland.[10] Since that date, the business has been known as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland and as Primark elsewhere.[2] [13]

In 2005, Primark bought UK retailer Littlewoods's retail stores for £409 million, retaining 40 of the 119 shops and selling the rest.[14]

In May 2006, the first Primark shop in mainland Europe opened in Madrid, Spain. In December 2008, Primark opened in the Netherlands, followed by Portugal, Germany and Belgium in 2009, Austria in 2012, France in 2013, and Italy in 2014.[15] [16]

Primark opened its current headquarters in 2015 in a redeveloped Dublin building, Arthur Ryan House, formerly Chapel House.[4] [17] [18] [1]

In 2015, Primark opened its first United States shop in Boston, later expanding into New York City, Philadelphia, Danbury and Chicago.[19] [20] [21] [22] Having built a chain of around 40 shops in Spain, Primark opened a second outlet in Madrid in October 2015, its second-biggest in the world.[23] The largest Primark shop opened in Birmingham on 11 April 2019, occupying the former Pavilions Shopping Centre of, with five floors including a beauty salon, Disney-themed café and a barbershop, and adding the largest Greggs fast-food outlet in the world in February 2022.[24] [25] On 13 June 2019, Primark expanded to Slovenia with a shop in Ljubljana.[26]

On 23 March 2020, Primark temporarily closed its 189 UK shops, as a result of government restrictions during the COVID-19 outbreak.[27] Its 153 shops in England re-opened on 15 June 2020.[28] As a result of the lockdown, the company reported a sales loss of £430 million.[29]

On 10 August 2020, Primark opened the first shop in Poland in the Galeria Młociny shopping center in Warsaw, later expanding into Poznań, Kraków, Katowice, Wrocław and Łódź. In June 2021, Primark opened the first shop in the Czech Republic in Prague, occupying the area of and serving as a flagship for the region of Central and Eastern Europe.[30]

In 2021, Primark unveiled a sustainability strategy that sets targets to reduce textile waste, halving emissions and improving the life of Primark workers.[31]

On 15 December 2022, Primark opened its first shop in Romania, in Bucharest.[32] [33] On 20 June 2023, Primark opened its second store in Bucharest.

In November 2022, Primark announced it was going online with a new click-and-collect service. This announcement came after the company lost more than £1 billion in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, when its shops had to be closed, while the competitors with online shops had smaller or no financial losses.[34] The click-and-collect service was launched as a trial in 25 stores in north-west England, Yorkshire and north Wales for children's products only. However, on the day of launch of the new service, the company's website crashed, causing the issues for people trying to access it.[35]

In 8 February 2024, as part of expansion plans, Primark announced a major scheme in which five shops would open and 15 (including its shop on Oxford Street) would be renovated. Primark also opened a distribution centre in Jacksonville, Florida.[36] [37]

In 21 May 2024, Primark unveiled a new brand identity, revealing a more curved and bold logo based on its 2005 logo, along with changing the colour slightly.[38]

On 28 May 2024, Primark opened its first Hungarian shop in the Arena Mall in Budapest. On 20 June 2024, it was announced that the business intended to invest more than €40 million on its Portuguese business, including opening four further shops in Portugal, as part of its plan to have 530 shops internationally by 2026.[39]

Corporate affairs

The key trends for Primark are (as of the financial year ending 17 September):[40]

Revenue
(£m)
Adjusted
operating
profit
(£m)
Number of
employees
Number
of stores
Number of
served
countries
Sq ft of
selling space
(m)
References
20144,95066254278910.2
20155,347673612931011.1
20165,949689683151112.3
20177,053735733451113.8
20187,4778437536011 14.8
20197,792913783731215.6
20205,895362703841316.2
20215,593321713981416.8
20227,697756724081417.3
20239,008735764321618.1
Primark stores by country in 2023
CountryNumber
of stores
England154
Spain60
Republic of Ireland37
Germany32
France27
Netherlands20
Scotland20
Italy15
US24
Portugal10
Northern Ireland9
Belgium8
Wales8
Austria5
Poland4
Romania2
Slovenia1
Czech Republic2
Hungary1
Slovakia1
Total439

Products

Primark offers a diverse range of products, including: baby, children's, women's and men's clothing, accessories and footwear; beauty products; housewares and confectionery. The chain sells clothing at prices below those typically charged by other retailers.

From 2014, Primark began selling makeup products.[41] Primark started selling vegan snacks from January 2018. Laura O' Sullivan, co-founder of Primark, expressed her support of the new snacks.[42]

Along with retailers such as Zara and H&M, Primark contributes to the contemporary fast fashion trend. According to an article about Primark in The Economist, "For many shoppers, Primark has an irresistible offer: trendy clothes at astonishingly low prices. The result is a new and even faster kind of fast fashion, which encourages consumers to buy heaps of items, discard them after a few wears and then come back for another batch of new outfits."[43]

In 2020, Primark launched their Wellness collection which includes 80 eco-conscious products.[44] All of the products are made of organic, sustainable or recycled materials. This is part of the retailer's commitment to be more responsible for its footprint.[45]

Working practices

In 2006, Primark joined the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), a collaborative organisation bringing together businesses, trades unions and NGOs to work on labour rights issues in their supply chains.[46] ETI members commit to working towards the implementation of a code of conduct based on the International Labour Organization's core conventions.

In December 2008, the UK charity War on Want launched a new report, Fashion Victims II, that showed conditions had not improved in Bangladeshi factories supplying Primark, two years after the charity first visited them.[47]

On 9 January 2009, a supplier was forced by ETI to remove its branding from Primark stores and websites following a BBC/The Observer investigation into the employment practices. The investigation alleged the use of illegal immigrant labour and argued that the workers were paid less than the UK legal minimum wage.[48]

On 16 June 2011, the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) published its findings into a Panorama programme[49] "Primark: On the Rack", broadcast in June 2008. The programme was an undercover investigative documentary examining poor working conditions in Indian factories supplying Primark. Although Primark subsequently stopped doing business with the Indian supplier, the ESC concluded that footage in the programme was 'more likely than not' to have been fabricated.[50] The ESC directed the BBC to make an on-air apology and to ensure that the programme was not repeated or sold to other broadcasters. Primark created a specific website to deal with the issues around the programme.[51]

In 2011 and 2012, Primark achieved 'Leader' status in the Ethical Trading Initiative.[52]

In June 2013, two labels both stitched with alleged SOS messages were separately found in garments purchased from a store in Swansea, Wales. Primark argued the supply chain showed these label messages were a hoax.[53]

Also in June 2014, a customer from Ireland allegedly found an SOS note wrapped in a prison ID card in the pocket of trousers purchased from a Primark store several years earlier.[54] The letter was written in Chinese and said to report that prisoners were forced to work "like oxen" making fashion clothes for export for 15 hours per day and that the food they were given would not be fit for animals.[55]

A year and a half later an alleged SOS note from a Chinese torture victim was found in socks purchased from Primark.[56]

In December 2018, a bone was found by a customer in a sock purchased in the shop's Colchester branch.[57]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Us . Primark . 15 February 2016.
  2. http://www.thejournal.ie/penneys-business-1957209-Mar2015/ "A household Irish name built from humble beginnings: The Penneys story"
  3. Web site: Annual Report and Accounts 2023. 16 December 2023. Associated British Foods. 2023.
  4. https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=5487098 "Snapshot: Primark Stores Limited"
  5. News: Primark reveals how to pronounce its name. The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 August 2017. 15 August 2017. Helena. Horton.
  6. Penneys owner eyes significant growth in full-year profit. 23 April 2024. 5 June 2024. www.rte.ie.
  7. Web site: Primark Holdings. SoloCheck.ie.
  8. News: Fashion swing is felt by Penneys' owners. 11 July 2008. Reuters. Irish Independent. Dublin. David. Jones.
  9. News: Why Penneys is no longer our little secret. 9 December 2016. Irish Examiner. Dublin. 19 January 2014. Louise. O'Neill.
  10. Web site: 78/193/EEC: Commission Decision of 23 December 1977 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (IV/29.246 – Penneys). 9 December 2016. 23 December 1977. Commission of the European Communities.
  11. News: Women First . The Irish Times . 34779, p 22 . 8 May 1974.
  12. News: Pritchard . Charles . £4.2m. Profits Rise for Associated British Foods . The Irish Times . 36805, p 14 . 19 June 1974.
  13. Web site: Fashion, Home & Beauty. Penneys.
  14. News: M&S to cash in as Littlewoods disappears. The Guardian. London. Julia. Finch. 8 August 2005.
  15. News: Primark targets chic French shoppers as it opens in Marseille. 9 December 2016. 16 December 2013. The Daily Telegraph. London. Graham. Ruddick.
  16. Web site: Primark, la catena di shopping low cost arriva in Italia. Primark, the low cost shopping chain arrives in Italy. Redazione. Velvet Style Italia. 31 August 2014. Italian.
  17. http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2015/0916/728278-primark-redeveloped-hq/ "Primark officially opens redeveloped Dublin HQ"
  18. Web site: McCabe. Sarah. Expansion plans on course for Penneys international HQ in Dublin. Irish Independent. Dublin. 20 October 2014. 29 November 2013.
  19. News: Primark to open in the United States. 23 April 2014. The Daily Telegraph. Graham. Ruddick.
  20. Web site: Primark stores United States. 10 May 2021. Primark.
  21. News: Rozario. Kevin. After Chicago State Street Opening, Primark Says It Is 'Just Getting Going'. Forbes. 16 March 2021.
  22. News: Zumbach. Lauren. Fast-fashion brand Primark to open Chicago store on State Street. 25 May 2020. Chicago Tribune.
  23. News: Penney's opens its second biggest store in the world in Spain. O' Leary. Elizabeth. 15 October 2015. Irish Independent. Dublin. 27 November 2016.
  24. News: Young. Graham. 19 July 2019. 100 days of the world's biggest Primark – and Mickey Mouse pancakes. 16 February 2022. Birmingham Mail.
  25. News: Young. Graham. 11 February 2022. First look inside the world's biggest Greggs in Primark – with a doughnut swing. 16 February 2022. Birmingham Mail.
  26. News: Primark opens its first store in Slovakia. 25 May 2023. RTÉ News. 24 August 2023.
  27. News: Primark UK stores closing 'until further notice'. 23 March 2020. BBC News. 26 March 2020.
  28. News: Primania returns: why is the UK so obsessed with shopping at Primark?. 15 June 2020. The Daily Telegraph. London. 5 July 2020.
  29. News: Lockdowns wipe £430m off Primark sales. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211221206/https://www.ft.com/content/82717d2a-416e-4e95-a8e1-34f1fce258d3. 11 December 2022. subscription. live. Financial Times. London. Patricia. Nilsson. 4 December 2020. 6 December 2020.
  30. Web site: 19 June 2021. Nine new brands have entered the Czech market in H1 2021. 14 July 2021. Cushman & Wakefield.
  31. Web site: Preuss. Simone. 6 December 2022. Primark presents results in latest sustainability report. Fashion United.
  32. Web site: 18 November 2022. Primark to open first store in Romania before Christmas. 25 November 2022. Romania-Insider.com.
  33. News: Primark opens its first store in Romania. 15 December 2022. 24 August 2023. RTÉ News.
  34. News: Primark finally goes online with click-and-collect. 14 November 2022. BBC News. 14 November 2022.
  35. News: Primark website crashes as click-and-collect launched. 14 November 2022. BBC News. 15 November 2022.
  36. Web site: Beevers . Angela . 8 February 2024 . Primark continues US expansion with new Florida distribution centre Retail Bulletin . 8 February 2024 . Retail Bulletin Daily UK Retail News .
  37. Web site: Morgan . Aoife . 8 February 2024 . Primark to invest £100m in UK stores in 2024 – Retail Gazette . 8 February 2024 . www.retailgazette.co.uk .
  38. Web site: Wright . Georgia . 21 May 2024 . Primark unveils 'refreshed' brand identity and new summer campaign – Retail Gazette . 21 May 2024 .
  39. Web site: Primark plans €40m expansion in Portugal. The Irish Times. 21 June 2024.
  40. Web site: Annual Reports – ABF . 25 November 2023 . ABF.
  41. News: Primark has got a brand new makeup range. 5 March 2014. Cosmopolitan. Lucy. Partington. 24 August 2023.
  42. News: Budget Chain Primark Starts Selling Vegan Snack Range. 19 February 2018. Plant Based News. 29 January 2018. Maria. Chiorando.
  43. News: Faster, cheaper fashion. 5 September 2015. The Economist. subscription.
  44. Web site: Primark's new Wellness collection has landed and prices start from just £2. 5 March 2020. You. 24 August 2023.
  45. Web site: Primark to launch Wellness collection with Boxpark pop-up. Lauretta. Roberts. 14 February 2020. The Industry.Fashion.
  46. Primark joins Ethical Trading Initiative ETI. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071008102159/http://www.ethicaltrade.org/Z/lib/2006/05/primark-press/index.shtml. 8 October 2007. Ethical Trading Initiative. 26 May 2006.
  47. Web site: Fashion Victims II. 18 February 2009. dead. War on Want. https://web.archive.org/web/20090302054854/http://waronwant.org/campaigns/supermarkets/fashion-victims/inform/16360-fashion-victims-ii. 2 March 2009.
  48. News: Primark in storm over conditions at UK supplier. The Guardian. London. Dan. McDougall. 11 January 2009. 22 May 2010.
  49. Web site: BBC Trust. 17 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110619034924/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/news/press_releases/june/panorama.shtml. 19 June 2011. dead.
  50. News: BBC crisis over 'fake' sweatshop scene in Primark documentary. The Independent. London. Ian. Burrell. Martin. Hickman. 16 June 2011.
  51. Primark welcomes the BBC Panorama verdict. Primark. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110618132300/http://www.primarkresponse.com/panorama/. 18 June 2011.
  52. Web site: Responsibility – Responsibility in action – Primark Ethical Trade Team. Associated British Foods. 8 September 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150502100506/http://www.abf.co.uk/responsibility/our-actions/primark_ethical_trade_team. 2 May 2015.
  53. News: Primark claims 'cry for help labels' are a hoax carried out in the UK following investigation. The Independent. London. 28 June 2014.
  54. News: Primark investigates claim of 'cry for help' note in trousers. BBC News. 25 June 2014.
  55. 'Cry for help' from prisoner in Chinese forced labour jail alleged to have been found inside Primark trousers. Amnesty International UK. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160709093857/https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/%E2%80%98cry-help%E2%80%99-prisoner-chinese-forced-labour-jail-alleged-have-been-found-inside-primark. 9 July 2016. 24 June 2014.
  56. News: Man Finds Letter Claiming To Be From Chinese Torture Victim In Primark Socks. Cherrington. Rosy. 21 December 2015. HuffPost. 20 November 2020.
  57. News: Primark customer finds 'human bone' in sock. BBC News. 25 January 2019.