Primark makes its London mark
Primark made its mark on London last week when it opened its Oxford Street doors to deliver unabashed, affordable fast fashion to the masses. Less than two hours after doors opened, customers were being let into the packed premises on a one-in, one-out basis. The 70,000 square-foot London store sells clothes for men, women and children, as well as homeware and sells t-shirts for as little as one pound. A shiny, linen coat was one of the best sellers of the day, retailing at just £15.
Breege O'Donoghue, a Primark director, said: "We knew we were going to be busy, but this has exceeded all expectations. Shoppers carried off their purchases in brown paper carrier bags, which Primark is phasing in to replace plastic bags. Primark is known for its "fast fashion", which is when catwalk trends are quickly turned into more cheaply priced clothes for the high street. A recent article in the Daily Mail suggested that whilst it is great for consumers to not have to pay extortionate prices for quality goods, somewhere down line in a selling a t-shirt for £1 means somebody is getting exploited.
In December 2006 the charity War on Want revealed factory workers in Bangladesh are regularly working 80 hours a week for just 5p an hour, in potential death trap factories, to produce cheap clothes for British consumers of Primark, Tesco and Asda's 'George' range. War on Want issued these findings in a report called Fashion Victims, based on research among employees at six Bangladeshi factories in the capital Dhaka which employ over 5,000 workers, mainly women, making clothes for the three bargain retailers. Primark is owned by Associated British Foods, the Silver Spoon sugar to Kingsmill bread and Twinings tea group, and has expanded rapidly over the past couple of years, opening stores at the rate of one a week.
www.primark.co.uk
11 April 2007
Primark hits Oxford Street
Our favourite discount retailer Primark will open the doors of its brand new flagship store on Oxford Street this week. Making a commitment to environmentally friendly retailing, the store will fly its environmentally-friendly flag, will sell a new range of organic cotton clothes and continue to reduce the use of plastic bags. In fact, Primark has promised to reduce their use by 25 percent by 2008.
Neighbouring stores rejoiced at the imminent arrival of Primark. “We'll all benefit from the increased footfall,” Paul Merchant, merchandising managing director for New Look told Vogue. “With New Look, H&M, River Island and Next, we'll have a decent chunk of the street. Traditionally, shoppers tend to stop at Selfridges or Marks & Spencer, but we're giving consumers a reason to extend their trip. I can only see good things from Primark's opening.”
www.primark.co.uk
3 April 2007
Matalan and Primark in ‘chav’ dispute
According to the Sunday Times, the battle to dress “chav Britain” has moved from the high street to the High Court in a bitter legal dispute over the right to sell “hoodies”. Primark, the budget clothing retailer, has launched a legal action against its arch-rival, Matalan, which it accuses of confusing customers by illicitly copying its products.At the centre of the dispute is a popular range of hoodies for boys launched by Matalan and emblazoned with the words “rebel attitude”.
Primark claims it has the sole rights to sell clothing to children using the word “rebel” and already uses the term to market its boys’ range.
According to papers filed at the High Court earlier this month, Primark is demanding that Matalan destroy its “rebel” hoodies immediately and pay it substantial damages.However, Matalan is refusing to withdraw the items, which cost only £4 and are being heavily promoted.A source with knowledge of the case said: “Legally it may be an interesting issue, but commercially it seems a bit silly. It’s just the word ‘rebel’ on T-shirts. It does not seem to be an attempt to copycat Primark.”
The claim could not have come at a worse time for Matalan, which has suffered a sharp dive in profits and is in the midst of a takeover battle. The company recently hired Melanie Sykes, the television presenter, and Gavin Henson, the Welsh rugby international, to spearhead an advertising campaign to revive its fortunes.The two retailers dominate the booming super-budget fashion market, which has hit the profits of more established high-street names such as Marks & Spencer, Gap and Next and contributed to the collapse of Kookai and Morgan this year.They charge as little as £2 for a T-shirt or £6 for ballet pumps, and have won plaudits in the fashion press.
Primark’s rise has been spectacular. A report by Verdict Research says Primark is now the country’s fourth-largest women’s clothing retailer, having overtaken Asda, Debenhams and New Look. Only Marks & Spencer, Arcadia and Next sell more. Primark recently reported a 20% rise in profits over the past six months.This summer Primark sold more than 90,000 cotton polka-dot dresses at £10 each. Last year, a £12 military jacket that was compared to a coat by New York fashion designer Marc Jacobs clocked up 250,000 sales after it was featured in Vogue.
However, the retailer is more accustomed to defending legal claims from fashion rivals than issuing them. In May 2004 Monsoon settled out of court for £23,000 with Primark, but then filed another claim the following April over six items of women’s and children’s clothes, which Primark later withdrew.H&M also filed a claim against Primark for “design right infringement” and this again was settled out of court.A source close to the retailer said: “It just shows how aggressive the market is becoming but most of these things get settled out of court.”
The hoodie is a contentious item in the urban wardrobe that has been vilified by the government. Tony Blair backed a ban on hoodies in Bluewater, one of Britain’s largest shopping centres, in May last year, while John Prescott said he found it intimidating to be confronted by 10 teenage “fellas with hoods on”.In the same month, Dale Carroll, 16, from Manchester was given an Asbo banning him from wearing hoodies for five years; and the following October, Bedfordshire police announced that they would stop and search every youngster wearing a hoodie in Luton.A spokesman for Matalan said it was aware of the issue but was unable to comment further. Primark would not comment.
www.matalan.co.uk
www.primark.co.uk
20 August 2006
Primark and Matalan in court battle
Retail giants Primark and Matalan are latest in a string of businesses to face a court-room showdown over the right to use a brand name they both claim are theirs.
The word ‘rebel’ is at the heart of the spat. Primark says it has had the brand name for years, but rival Matalan has started selling T-shirts with ‘rebel’ printed across the front. Now Primark has decided to take Matalan to court for infringement of trademark. It is demanding £300,000 damages.
Both companies are unique out of town retailers, committed to providing outstanding value for money. Matalan has said it offers up to the minute fashion and homewares at prices up to 50% below the equivalent High Street price.
14 August 2006
Primark fourth largest UK women's retailer
Discount retailer Primark has surpassed Asda, Debenhams and New Look to become the UK 's fourth largest women's clothing retailer. M&S, Arcadia and Next occupy the top slots. According to research consultancy Verdict Research's preliminary figures, Primark's market share in the women's clothing market has grown to 3.6 percent as opposed to 2.7 percent last year. The retailer outperformed New Look, Debenhams and Asda, moving up from seventh place last year. Meanwhile, Marks and Spencer moved to 12 percent from 11.8 percent, remaining in the largest player. Arcadia also gained a few percentage points, from 8.9 percent to 9.2 percent. Only Bhs and Matalan lost market share.
On the other hand, fashion retailers experienced in a dramatic downturn in sales last week. Industry executives have blamed the volatile weather, the World Cup and comparatively strong sales last June for the double-digit drop last week.
Primark goes green
Primark has boosted its ethical credentials by joining the Ethical Training Initiative.
The value retailer has joined the likes of Marks & Spencer, Next, Monsoon, Debenhams and New Look, which are already members of the organization. It aims to promote respect for the rights of workers in factories and farms across the globe.
Primark has faced pressure from ethical organizations to make its dealings with suppliers more transparent and posted its supplier code of conduct onto its website – www.primark.co.uk - earlier this year. In signing up, Primark has agreed to adhere to the ETIs base code, which is a set of commitments covering issues including wages, health and safety and discrimination. It will put notices on its tills informing customers of its commitment to ethical trading.
9 June 2006
Primark opens in Spain
UK budget fashion chain Primark has opened its first non-UK/Ireland store with a debut in Madrid , Spain , on Friday (May 19). The store is located in the Plenilunio shopping centre that also hosts rival stores owned by Inditex.
The company said it chose Spain as a key target for expansion given the similarity between tastes there and tastes in Ireland, where it run 127 Penneys stores. A spokesman told The Guardian that success for the new store could see a string of openings across Spain . The second site is expected to open in Murcia in September.
22 May 2006
Primark loses stock in warehouse fire
A crisis management plan went into action at the fashion chain Primark yesterday after a warehouse fire wiped out half of the retailer's stock. The building, which cost £8m to construct five years ago, was destroyed. "This is about as bad as it can be," a spokesman for Primark said. A spokesman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: "It was full of clothes so it was obviously going to s pr ead very quickly."
Primark, which specialises in discount fashion for under-30s, is one of the fastest-growing fashion chains. It has 120 outlets and is part of the Associated British Foods group. In September, it reported a 12% increase in like-for-like sales even though the rest of the retail sector is struggling.
4 November 2005
Primark suffers warehouse fire
British discount retailer Primark has suffered a big fire at its warehouse in Magna Park, Lutterworth.
The fire raged on Tueday evening, demolishing the warehouse, which is one of the largest in the UK. It also destroyed an office block.
The warehouse, which was situated close to the M1 in Leicestershire, took deliveries of about 30 trucks on a daily basis.
The cause of the fire is as yet unknown.
www.primark.co.uk
2 November 2005
ABF to double retail space
Associated British Foods, the owner of the discount retail chain Primark, has said that it plans to double the amount of retail space it kept from its acquisition of Littlwoods stores. The company announced these plans as sales growth at Primark helped alleviate a drop of profits in its sugar business – ABF makes Ovaltine and Silver Spoon sugar.
The company said that it expected Primark to achieve a like-for-like sales growth of about 12 percent in the second half. This would bring the growth average for the year to 9 percent. ABF announced that Primark would operate from 1.15 million sq ft of retail space that it obtained through the take over of Littlewood, as opposed to the 800,000 sq ft that it initially had planned to use.
www.primark.co.uk
13 September 2005