Primark

History

The company's first shop, named Penneys and still in operation today, was established at 47 Mary Street in Dublin by Arthur Ryan and his business partner Micaela Mitchell

The first major shops outside of Dublin were opened in the cities of Cork and Belfast in 1971, both under the name of Penneys.

The company opened a shop in Derby in 1973, marking its first expansion into Great Britain. By 1974, it had 24 shops, including three in Scotland and two in England, all operating under the Penneys brand.

JC Penney, an American company, opposed the use of Penneys as a business name. JC Penney registered the various business names of Penneys parent company in countries throughout Europe, in order to put pressure on it to relinquish its registration of the Penneys brand, and issued court proceedings disputing the use of the brand. Following an injunction granted by the High Court of England in June 1974, the two shops in England were rebranded as Primark, named after the in-house clothing brand that had been introduced early on. However, the Penneys brand continued to be used in Ireland and Scotland, and in 1975–1976, four more Penneys-branded shops were opened in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In a settlement of the trademark dispute, Penneys/Primark agreed that from 27 August 1976 onward, it would only use the Penneys brand in the Republic of Ireland, with its shops elsewhere, including in Northern Ireland, to be rebranded as Primark. In exchange, JC Penney agreed to relinquish its registration of the various business names of Primark's parent companies throughout Europe, and agreed not to trade under the Penneys brand in the Republic of Ireland. Since that date, it has been known as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland and as Primark elsewhere.

In 2005, Primark acquired UK retailer Littlewoods's retail shops for £409 million, retaining 40 of the 119 shops and selling the remainder.

In May 2006, the first Primark shop in mainland Europe opened in Madrid, Spain.

In December 2008, Primark opened in the Netherlands, followed by Portugal, Germany and Belgium in 2009.

In January 2009, a supplier was forced by the Ethical Trading Initiative to remove its branding from Primark shops and websites following a BBC/The Observer investigation into the employment practices. The investigation alleged the use of illegal immigrant labour and argued that the workers were paid less than the UK legal minimum wage.

In July 2009, having led the company since its foundation in 1969, Arthur Ryan retired as Chief Executive and became Chairman instead. He was replaced as Chief Executive by the company's Chief Operating Officer, Paul Marchant.

Primark expanded into Austria in 2012, France in 2013, and Italy in 2014.

On 24 April 2013, in the Rana Plaza collapse, a manufacturing facility for Primark and other international brands, collapsed, killing 1,134 people. Primark was the largest contributor of compensation, paying over US$10 million for deceased, missing, and injured claims.

From 2014, Primark began selling makeup products.

Primark opened its current headquarters in 2015 in a redeveloped Dublin building, Arthur Ryan House, formerly Chapel House.

In 2015, Primark opened its first United States shop in Boston.

Having built a chain of around 40 shops in Spain, Primark opened a second outlet in Madrid in October 2015, its second-biggest in the world.

In April 2016, Primark opened its first shop in Milan.

In March 2017, Primark opened its 7th shop in the United States and its first in New York State, a 55,100 square foot shop at the Staten Island Mall.

Primark started selling vegan snacks from January 2018.

The largest Primark shop opened in Birmingham in April 2019, occupying the former Pavilions Shopping Centre of 161000 sqft, with five floors including a beauty salon, Disney-themed café and a barbershop, and adding the largest Greggs fast-food outlet in the world in February 2022.

In June 2019, Primark expanded to Slovenia with a shop in Ljubljana.

In February 2020, Primark launched a Wellness collection which includes 80 eco-conscious products made of organic, sustainable or recycled materials.

As a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns, in which many shops were closed for months, the company reported a sales loss of £430 million.

In August 2020, Primark opened its first shop in Poland in the Galeria Młociny shopping centre in Warsaw.{{Cite news | url=https://www.drapersonline.com/news/primark-makes-polish-debut | title=Primark makes Polish debut

In March 2021, Primark opened its first shop in Chicago.

In June 2021, Primark opened the first shop in the Czech Republic in Prague, occupying the area of 50590 sqft and serving as a flagship for the region of Central and Eastern Europe.

In December 2022, Primark opened its first shop in Romania, in Bucharest and announced a second shop to open in 2023.

In November 2022, Primark introduced an online shopping service, inspired by losses during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

In February 2024, Primark announced five new shop openings and the renovation of 15 shops, including its shop on Oxford Street. Primark also opened a distribution centre in Jacksonville, Florida. It also announced a shop at The Mall at Prince George's.

In May 2024, Primark unveiled a new brand identity, revealing a more curved and bold logo based on its 2005 logo, along with changing the colour slightly.

Also in May 2024, Primark opened its first Hungarian shop in the Arena Mall in Budapest.

In June 2024, Primark announced the intent to invest more than €40 million on its Portuguese business, including opening four further shops in Portugal, as part of its plan to have 530 shops internationally by 2026.

In June 2024, the Colombo Centre shop extension, in Lisbon, was inaugurated. With a 40% increase in size to 6038 sqm, it became the largest single-floor Primark shop in the world.

In October 2024, Primark announced its first shop in Manhattan, a 74,000-square foot location in Herald Square.

In January 2025, Primark announced 3 new shops in Poland.

In March 2025, in Belfast, Primark opened its first ever standalone homeware shop.

Also in March 2025, Paul Marchant resigned as CEO of Primark following an investigation into inappropriate behaviour towards a woman in a social setting. Marchant admitted to an error in judgement, apologised to the individual, the ABF board and his colleagues, and accepted that his actions fell below the company's expected standards. Eoin Tonge, ABF's finance director, was appointed as interim CEO.

In April 2025, Primark opened a 32,000 square foot shop at Potomac Mills, its second shop in Virginia.

Also in April 2025, Primark opened a shop at the Espaço Guimarães Shopping Center, its 12th shop in Portugal.

In May 2025, Primark entered into a franchise agreement with Alshaya Group to open four shops in the Arabian Peninsula, including a shop in The Avenues shopping centre in Kuwait, and three shops in Dubai, at the Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, and City Centre Mirdif. The shop in Kuwait opened in October 2025.

In August 2025, the company launched a mobile app.

In November 2025, Primark announced a 33,000 square foot shop at Dolphin Mall, its first shop in Miami.

Also in November 2025, Primark opened its first new shop in Germany in five years.

In December 2025, Primark announced a shop at Brandon Exchange, its first shop in the Tampa Bay area. However, Primark also announced the closure of its first UK shop in a decade at Dartford. The last trading day is set for 3 January 2026.

Corporate affairs

In popular media

In January 2024, RTÉ broadcast a six-part documentary, entitled Inside Penneys, exploring the workings of the company.

Gallery

File:The biggest Primark in the world, High Street, Birmingham - geograph.org.uk - 6267680.jpg|Primark shop at High Street in Birmingham, England, the largest in the chain File:Edificio Madrid-París (Madrid) 08.jpg|Primark shop at Gran Vía in Madrid, Spain, the second-largest in the chain File:PrimarkMadryt.jpg|alt=|Interior of the Primark shop at Gran Vía in Madrid, Spain File:Former Lewis's Building, Mosley Street.jpg|Primark in the former Lewis's Building in Manchester city centre, Manchester, England File:2017-12-01 Primark, Aqua Shopping Centre, Portimão.JPG|Primark in the Aqua Shopping Centre, Portimão, Algarve region, Portugal File:Interior of the Ridings Centre, Wakefield, West Yorkshire (8th December 2020) 004.jpg|Primark in the Ridings Centre, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England File:Primark, The Hague (2019) 02.jpg|Primark in The Hague, Netherlands File:Car park and department store, Wilton Shopping Centre, Cork (geograph 3095197).jpg|Penneys in the Wilton area of Cork, Ireland File:PRIMARK store Boston Massachusetts 09172015.jpg|Primark in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. File:Primark, Irvine - geograph.org.uk - 5236197.jpg|Primark in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland

References

References

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