Primark, a subsidiary of American British Foods plc., whose brand promises “every day affordability”, will have 24 stores in the United States and 436 world-wide at the end of this year. The last two stores will open in Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, N.Y., on November 9, and in Concord Mills in Charlotte, N.C. on November 16. That marks the total opening in the U.S. for 2023 of 8 stores.
The Concord Mills store is the first store in North Carolina and Primark’s management has set its sight on Southern states for their immediate expansion plans. The brand plans to have 60 stores in the U.S, by 2026. Each store will be about 30,000 square feet in size. While stores vary in size, the largest unit was opened in 2019 in Birmingham, England with 160,000 square feet in retail space.
Primark was founded in 1969 by Arthur Ryan as Penneys. It was a single shop on Mary Street, Dublin with the goal of bringing affordable clothing to Ireland. The store was called Penneys. The name is only used in Ireland, but in the rest of the world the company is known as Primark. Today it is an international company with more than 72,000 team members in 17 countries. The company emphasizes that they still have the same goals: everyday affordability for everyone.
Primark is an Irish company which expanded successfully in Europe and came to the United States in 2015. Their first U.S. store was in Boston, and I recall an early store in King of Prussia. Kevin Tulip, president of Primark U.S., stressed that their expansion never was to open as many stores as quickly as possible, but rather to open stores in the right locations, with the right store layout for the specific communities, and, of course, the right product offering. He said “we learned a lot in those early years about what sparks Primaria for the U.S. shoppers and we are finding that our value pricing across women’s, men’s, kids, baby, home and gifts have kept American families coming back to us time and time again.”
Here is the company’s listing of the countries in operation and the number of stores in each country:
England (154), Spain (58), Ireland (37), Germany (32), France (24), Netherlands (20), Scotland (20), Italy (15), U.S. (21), Portugal (10), Northern Ireland (9), Belgium (8), Wales (8), Austria (5), Poland (4), Romania (2), Slovenia (1), Czech Republic (2), Hungary (1), Slovakia (1). The total is 428 stores in 17 countries.
POSTSCRIPT: My visits to several U.S. and European stores confirmed a consistency of quality, timing and especially enthusiastic shoppers. The company has their own brand of cosmetics and truly appeals to all ages, but especially to parents with young kids. As they grow internationally, it will be a company to be reckoned with.
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