Primark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- "Penneys" redirects here. For the U.S. retailer, see J.C. Penney.
| Primark Stores Limited | |
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| Type of Company | Private Limited Company by shares - subsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF) plc |
|---|---|
| Founded | Dublin, Ireland, 1969 |
| Headquarters | Dublin and Reading |
| Key people | Arthur Ryan, chairman and managing director, Seamus M. Halford, Deputy Managing Director, P. Prior, Finance Director |
| Industry | Retailer |
| Products | Clothes and Linen |
| Revenue | EUR 1 billion (2005) [1] |
Primark Stores Limited is a chain store retailer in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Spain. It has around 140 branches. In the Republic of Ireland, where the company's main headquarters are based, it trades as Penneys. The company is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF) plc, employing over 14,000 people. The company positions itself as marketing fashionable clothing at competitive prices.
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[edit] Primark's Market Position
Primark is known for selling clothes at the budget end of the market. The company's success is based on sourcing supply cheaply and the fast turn around of stock in stores.
[edit] Penneys History
The original Penneys store was located in Mary Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1969, with the first UK Primark store opening in 1973. In the early 1995, Primark acquired Bhs's OneUp chain. In line with corporate policy, the Irish stores were rebranded as Penneys, and the British stores were rebranded as Primark. OneUp was Bhs' attempt to enter the budget market and so keep its bottom 15-20 stores profitable. This purchase more than doubled the (then) size of Primark. (Bhs later temporarily re-entered the Irish market, but have since withdrawn again). As of 2000, Primark's Hounslow store in West London was the store with its biggest cash turnover. It is one of the former OneUp stores. Primark is a retail group in the value sector employing over 17,500 people, increasing to 26,000 over the next year. Primark operates a total of 148 stores in the UK, Spain and Ireland, where it trades under the Penneys brand. By March 2007, a further 23 stores will be trading. It was first established in 1969 as Penneys in Mary Street Dublin. On 20th September 2006, Primark opened its second store in Spain in Nueva Condomina Shopping Centre, Murcia.
In the current financial year (starting 17 th September 2006), seven new Primark stores have opened – Burton on Trent, Camberley, Glasgow Parkhead, Inverness, Murcia (Nueva Condomina), Plymouth (Drake Circus) and Oldham. One store has added additional space – Athlone. While in the last financial year, twenty seven new Primark stores were opened, six smaller stores closed due to relocation and three stores added additional space.
Primark has several brands, which include Atmosphere, Secret Possessions, Primark Essentials (for Womens, Mens and Childrens quality basics), Early Days, Rebel and Young Dimension. Prior to 1997, Penneys often shared sites with Power Supermarkets (PSL), also an ABF subsidiary at the time. However, this practice ceased after the sale of PSL to Tesco in 1997. ABF decided to maintain control of Primark, despite it being the only non-food retailer under its control.
[edit] Notable property Acquisitions
In the late 1990s, Primark acquired several premises from former C&A sites. It also purchased the former Lewis' Department Store in Piccadilly, Manchester. Primark's UK headquarters are located in Reading, in a former Co-Op Department Store.
In February 2005, Primark bought six former Allders sites from their administrators, Kroll.
In July 2005 Primark/Associated British Foods purchased the 120-branch Littlewoods retail chain for £409 million.
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.
26 January 2006 saw the opening of a new four-storey Cardiff shop. The Cardiff store is currently the largest in the UK.
On the 19th May 2006, the company opened its first Spanish branch, in the Plenilunio Shopping Centre outside Madrid.
On the 24th November 2006, the company opened the second-largest Primark in the UK, in Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent.
[edit] Primark Own Brands
The company owns several brands, including:
- Active — Sporting Boyswear
- Atmosphere — Womenswear and Accessories
- Butler & Webb — Formal Menswear
- Cedarwood State — Casual Menswear
- Denim Company — Womenswear, Casual Men's and Childrenswear
- Early Days — Babywear
- Girl 2 Girl — Younger Girlswear
- Rebel Active — Older Boyswear
- Rebel Junior — Younger Boyswear
- Secret Possessions — Lingerie
- Young Dimension — Older Girlswear
- Primark Essentials - Essential Items e.g pants
- Primark Home - Home Items
[edit] Controversy
In 2006, Primark came under criticism for the working conditions in factories overseas, by campaigners who claim that it exploits workers to get cheap prices and fast speed-to-market. Reports such as War on Want's "Fashion Victims" [2] and two reports by Labour Behind the Label [3],[4] are some examples. Both organisations express concern over the following quote from Managing Director Arthur Ryan:
One story tells of how Ryan was approached by a factory owner with a product costing stg£5 that would sell for stg£10. Ryan reportedly told him he was not interested unless he came back with a product that cost stg£3 and could be sold for stg£7. “I don't care how you go about it - just do it,” he said.[5]
In its defence, Primark's head of Public Relations Geoff Lancaster said the company was trying to raise standards in Bangladesh, adding:
We use huge volumes, deal directly with suppliers cutting out the middlemen and do not advertise. That's how we get best value. [6]
[edit] References
- Alam, Khorshed; M. Hearson (2006-12-08). Fashion Victimes (pdf). War on Want. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
- Kehoe, Ian. "The very private Ryan", Sunday Business Post, 2006-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
- Ramesh, Randeep. "An 80-hour week for 5p an hour: the real price of high-street fashion", The Guardian, 2006-12-08. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
