Primark

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Primark Stores Limited is a clothes and linens retailer in the Republic of Ireland and UK with over 100 branches. In the Republic of Ireland - where the company's headquarters is based - it trades as Penneys. It is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc.

The company employs over 14,000 people, and own several brands, including:

• Atmosphere - womanswear
• Cedarwood State - casual menswear
• Denim Company - casual mens & childrenswear
• Butler & Webb - formal menswear
• Early Days - babywear
• Rebel - boyswear
• Active - sporting boyswear
• Secret Possessions - lingerie
• Young Dimension - girlswear

The company is known for tending towards the budget end of the market, in contrast with many other clothing retailers which have become more expensive. The brand is known for being able to imitate recent fashions as reported in magazines such as Vogue very quickly, at prices that are extraordinarily low compared with high-end ready-to-wear.

This reputation has come about despite spending very little on advertising efforts, which have consisted of little more than press releases to local newspapers when a new store opens. A major exception to this is their Christmas advertising campaign which has run on radio each Christmas (and occassionally on Irish television). In contrast to their main competitors, Matalan and George at ASDA, Primark have never advertised on television in the UK, and there is evidence that most of Primark's customers first heard about the store through word of mouth.

History

Penneys opened its first store in Mary Street, Dublin, Ireland in 1969, with the first UK Primark store opening in 1973. In the early 1990s, Primark acquired BHS' Republic of Ireland stores and rebranded them as Penneys. (BHS later temporarily re-entered the Irish market, but have since withdrawn again).

Prior to 1997, Pennys often shared sites with Power Supermarkets, also at the time an ABF susbsidary, however this practice ceased after the sale of PSL to Tesco in 1997. ABF decided to maintain control of Primark rather than sell it on also, despite the fact that it is the only non-food part of the operation.

In February 2005, Primark bought six of the former Allders store sites from their administrators Kroll.

In July 2005 Primark/Associated British Foods purchased the 120 branch Littlewoods retail chain for £409 million. Some of the stores, variously reported as 30 or 50, will be converted into branches of Primark, but the majority are expected to be sold on to other retailers. The Littlewoods catelogue business has been retained by the Barclay brothers and will continue to operate under the Littlewoods brand.

In November 2005, a fire at a TNT Logistics warehouse in Lutterworth destroyed up to half of Primark's UK stock. Shortages in the 2005 Christmas shopping period were anticipated.

In 2006, the company is planning to head to Spain with a branch in Madrid.

In December 2005, Primark acquired the lease of the former Allders site on Oxford Street in central London, and is expected to open a store there in 2007.

External link

• Official site