 |
|
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
| Number of locations | 257[1] |
| Key people | Arthur Ryan, Chairman Paul Marchant, Chief Executive Officer John Lyttle, Chief Operating Officer Ben Mansfield, Sales Director Breege O'Donoghue, HR, PR & Advertising Director Aidan Shields, Chief Financial Officer |
| Products | Womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear, accessories, lingerie and homeware |
| Revenue | £2,730m (Financial Year 2009/2010) |
| Employees | 36,000 |
| Parent | Associated British Foods |
Primark is an Irish clothing retailer, operating in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland (38 stores branded as Penneys), Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.[2] The company's main headquarters are in Dublin; they are a subsidiary of British food processing company ABF. Primark first opened in June 1969 in Mary Street (Dublin). It became apparent that more stores were required and another four were added to the chain.
Further expansion and success in Ireland dictated the move to the United Kingdom, when in 1971 it opened a large store in Belfast City Centre before opening four out of town stores in England in 1973. The first high-street stores were Derby and Bristol.
Contents |
Market position [edit]
Primark sells clothes at the budget end of the market. The company sources cheaply, using simple designs and fabrics in the most popular sizes and buys stock in bulk.
Primark's brands [edit]
All of the company's merchandise is made specifically for the company and as such Primark has its own brand names. Within both menswear and ladieswear there is one main brand name that supplies most of the fashion labels, which are added to by other suppliers.
Ladieswear Brands
- Atmosphere — Ladies fashion & formal wear
- Denim Co. — Ladies denim
- Limited Edition — Ladies fashion (available only from larger stores)
- Co-Ordinates — ladies fashion formal wear
- Authentic Apparel — ladies leisure wear
Lingerie Lines
- Secret Possessions — lingerie & nightwear
- No Secret - Lingerie
- Primark Essentials — underwear
- Love 2 Lounge — slippers, hot water bottles etc.
- Ocean Club — beachwear and towels
Menswear Lines
- Cedarwood State — Mens fashion
- Butler & Webb — Mens formal wear
- Backswing — Sportswear
- Cedarwood State Active (CS Active) — Mens sportswear
- Denim Co. — Men's denim
- Primark Essentials — underwear & nightware
- Authentic Apparel — Mens leisure wear
Childrenswear Lines
- Early Days — babywear (newborn-23 months)
- Little rebel — boys babywear (9–23 months)
- Young dimension — girls babywear (9–23 months)
- Young dimension — young girlswear (2–7 years)
- Girl 2 Girl — young girlswear (2–7 years)
- YD — older girlswear (7–16 years)
- Rebel — boyswear (2–7 years 7–16 years)
- Denim Co. — Children's denim
- Primark Essentials — underwear
Accessories Lines
- Opia — Accessories
- Opia Girls — Accessories for girls
Other Lines
- Primark Beauty — Cosmetics
- Primark Home — bedding, cushions, curtains, towels, kitchen and home accessories
Primark does also stock products from other, well-known brands. It stocks haribo sweets, assorted clothes & toys from companies such as Disney & Warner Brothers and Nivea sun lotion.
Issues [edit]
Working practices [edit]
In 2006, Primark joined the Ethical Trading Initiative, a collaborative organization bringing together businesses, trades unions and NGOs to work on labour rights issues in their supply chains.[3] ETI members commit to working towards the implementation of a code of conduct based on the International Labour Organisation's core conventions.
In December 2008, the UK charity War on Want launched a new report, Fashion Victims II, that showed terms and conditions had not improved in Bangladeshi factories supplying Primark, two years after the charity first visited them.[4]
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 use of illegal immigrant labour which was paid less than the UK legal minimum wage.[5]
On 16 June 2011 the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) published its findings into a Panorama programme[6] 'Primark: On the Rack', broadcast in June 2008. This 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.[7] 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.[8]
Building collapse at Savar [edit]
On 24 April 2013, an eight-story commercial building named Rana Plaza, collapsed in Savar, a sub-district near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Over 1000 people died and 3,000 were injured.[9] The factory housed a number of separate garment factories employing around 5,000 people, several shops, and a bank[10] and manufactured apparel for brands including the Benetton Group, Joe Fresh,[11] The Children's Place, Primark, Monsoon, and DressBarn.[12][13] Primark offered compensation and emergency aid to the victims of the collapse, a move which was welcomed by Oxfam,[14] and will also review the structural integrity of buildings making its clothes.[15]
Stores [edit]
Primark expanded rapidly in the UK in the mid-2000s. In 2005 they bought the Littlewoods chain for £409m,[16] retaining 40 of the 119 stores and selling the rest. They opened in the Meadowhall Centre in mid-2007.[17]
In May 2006, the first Primark store outside the UK and Ireland opened in Madrid, Spain. In December 2008, Primark opened its first stores in the Netherlands, followed in 2009 by its first stores in Portugal, Germany and Belgium. Primark opened its first store in Austria on 27 September 2012 in Innsbruck, this was followed by another store in Vienna which opened in October 2012.
The largest Primark store is located on Market Street, Manchester, England occupying 155,000 sq ft (14,400 m2) of retail space, spread over three floors. The Market Street store recently completed a full store refurbishment and extension to add an extra 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) of retail space to the ground and first floors.[18]
| Country | Number of Stores Trading as of 14 February 2013 |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
161 |
 Ireland |
38 |
 Spain |
35 |
 Germany |
10 |
 Portugal |
6 |
 Netherlands |
4 |
 Austria |
2 |
 Belgium |
1 |
| Total | 257 |
References [edit]
- ^ "Penneys company history". Retrieved 2012-12-12.
- ^ http://www.primark.co.uk/page.aspx?pointerid=eb44df4565934edca627dac6ec12145a
- ^ Primark joins Ethical Trading Initiative - Press Release - ETI
- ^ http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/supermarkets/fashion-victims/inform/16360-fashion-victims-ii
- ^ McDougall, Dan (2009-01-11). "Primark in storm over conditions at UK supplier". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2010-05-22.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/news/press_releases/june/panorama.shtml
- ^ Revoir, Paul (2011-06-17). "Shamed BBC could lose prestigious TV award over ‘faked footage of child labour' in Primark Panorama expose". Daily Mail (London).
- ^ http://www.primarkresponse.com/panorama/
- ^ "Bangladesh Building Collapse Death Toll Passes 800". Retrieved 2013-05-08.
- ^ Zain Al-Mahmood, Syed (24 April 2013). "Bangladesh building collapse kills at least 76 garment workers". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ 'Extreme Pricing' At What Cost? Retailer Joe Fresh Sends Reps To Bangladesh As Death Toll Rises - Forbes
- ^ Nelson, Dean (24 April 2013). "Bangladesh building collapse kills at least 82 in Dhaka". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ Alam, Julhas (24 April 2013). "At least 87 dead in Bangladesh building collapse". USA Today. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ "Oxfam response to Primark's statement on compensation for people affected by the Bangladesh Savar building collapse - Oxfam International". Retrieved 2013-05-08.
- ^ Factory Building Collapse in Bangladesh Kills 149 | Digital Wires from ENR.com | News McGraw-Hill Construction
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/aug/08/highstreetretailers.marksspencer?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
- ^ http://www.propertyweek.com/news/next-and-primark-to-anchor-meadowhall/3072706.article
- ^ "What's Happening in Manchester City Centre - Manchester Fashion Network". Retrieved 2012-04-23.
External links [edit]
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