Faster, cheaper fashion
A rapidly rising, super-cheap Irish clothes retailer prepares to conquer America. Rivals should be fearful
STAFF line a wide aisle, cheering. Blue balloons bob in anticipation. Then the doors open and throngs of women rush in, clutching shopping bags to gather up their bounty—dresses, jumpers, shoes and other treasure. The scene, captured in a video of a store opening in France last year, is common for Primark—the company dubs such exuberance “Primania”. The Irish retailer, owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), now sells more clothes than any other retailer in Britain. In 2006 Primark opened its first store in Spain. Since then it has marched steadily across the continent, establishing outposts in the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Austria and France. Sales rose by 150% between 2009 and 2014, making Primark a new force in the global rag trade (see chart).
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Faster, cheaper fashion”
From the September 5th 2015 edition
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