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Primark

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"Penneys" redirects here. For the American retailer, see J.C. Penney.
Primark Stores Limited
Company typeSubsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF) plc
IndustryRetailer
FoundedDublin, Ireland (1969)
HeadquartersDublin, Ireland
Reading, England
Key people
Josh Waites, chairman and managing director[1],
Seamus M. Halford, Deputy Managing Director,
Patrick Prior, Finance Director,
Breege O'Donoghue, Human Resources Director
ProductsClothes, Linen also Household Goods
Revenue£1,933m (2008) [1]
£233m (2007)
Number of employees
26,000+
Websitewww.primark.co.uk

Primark Stores Limited is an Irish clothing retailer, operating in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and Spain. It has 161 stores with 34 in the Republic of Ireland, 125 in the UK and 8 in Spain. In the Republic of Ireland, where the company's main headquarters are based, it trades as Penney's. The company is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF) plc, employing over 26,000 people. The company positions itself as marketing fashionable clothing at competitive prices.

In England the name is generally pronounced Pry-mark (first syllable is pronounced "pry" and the second syllable with "mark"). However, in Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland the name is usually pronounced /pɹi'mɑːk/ (first syllable is pronounced "pree")[citation needed].

The pronunciation of name leads to some debate and while some believe the store to have originally been pronounced "Pry-mark" /pɹaɪ'mɑːk/, the company had an intensive annual advertising campaign each Christmas during the 1980s where the store was referred to on several occasions throughout the song/jingle as "Pre-Mark" /pɹi'mɑːk/. Although in the Republic of Ireland, this lyric was redubbed as 'Penneys'.[2][3] However on the Primark corporate video, the company is pronounced "Pry-mark" /pɹaɪ'mɑːk/.[4]

Market position

Primark is known for selling clothes at the budget end of the market. The company's success is based on sourcing supply cheaply, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics, only making them in the most popular sizes, buying stock in huge bulks and varieties and not advertising. This store states that "Primark targets young, fashion-conscious under 35s, offering them high quality, fashion basics at value for money prices.

Departments

Primark carries a range of departments all identified for staff by numbers:

1 - Accessories
2 - Hosiery
4 - Lingerie
5 - Kidswear
6 - Menswear
7 - Footwear
8 - Womenswear
11 - Household
23 - Toiletries
24 - Christmas
26 - Sportswear

Primark's own brands

All of the company's merchandise is made specifically for the company and as such Primark has its own brand names:

  • Active — sporting boyswear
  • Atmosphere — womenswear and accessories
  • Butler & Webb — formal menswear
  • Cedarwood State — casual menswear
  • Denim Co. — womenswear, casual men's and childrenswear
  • Early Days — babywear
  • Girl 2 Girl — young girlswear
  • Opia - accessories
  • Rebel Active — older boyswear
  • Rebel Junior — younger boyswear
  • Young Dimension — older girlswear
  • Primark Home — home items
  • Secret Possessions — lingerie, women's nightwear
  • Essentials - Basic Cheaper Items

Working practices

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. [5] ETI members commit to working towards the implementation of a code of conduct based on the International Labour Organisation's core conventions. Membership of the ETI does not, however, provide any guarantees about either the quality of a company's trading policies or actual conditions on the ground. Since it joined the ETI, Primark's policies and practices have been examined sceptically as part of Labour Behind the Label's annual 'Let's Clean Up Fashion' survey [6], and poor working conditions in Indian factories supplying Primark have been exposed several times [7], [8], [9].

In 2005, prior to joining the ETI, Primark 2005 scored worst at just 3.5 out of 20 on an ethical index that ranks the leading clothing chains on criteria such as workers' rights and whether they do business with oppressive regimes (Mk One and Marks & Spencer were ranked second and third worst for ethics by Ethical Consumer magazine). The figure was contested by Primark and Ethical Consumer released a statement indicating that marks had been skewed due to its position in a wider company group.

Weekend staff either work a 14-hour, 8-hour, or 12-hour shift. Some contracted to work only 4-hour Saturday shifts. It is also not necessary for weekend staff to work an extra day in the week. It is stated as compulsory for members of staff to work their normal Saturday hours on a Bank Holiday in the UK stores.

Child labour

On 23 June 2008, the BBC broadcast a Panorama programme that showed unethical manufacturing practices in Primark's supply chain. The problem arose when undercover reporters exposed child labour in three of India's garment factories sub-contracted by Primark. [10] One such item was a woman's hand-made embroidered top which retails in the UK at £4. Video evidence clearly showed that children were making the item. The BBC alerted Primark to their findings, to which Primark replied: "Under no circumstances would Primark ever knowingly permit such activities". Primark has since claimed to have halted business with the mentioned suppliers, although this action was criticised by child protection groups as being irresponsible and likely to cause additional hardship to the labourers, arguing it would have been better to ensure working practices were turned around. [10] However, many industry pressure groups such as Labour Behind the Label and War on Want still argue that budget retailers such as Primark are using unethical manufacturing processes in order to maintain low prices for UK consumers.

References

  1. ^ Primark oldie’s golden touch, The Times, April 22, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
  2. ^ Connexion | Facebook
  3. ^ Connexion | Facebook
  4. ^ Primark - In Our Own Words (Corporate Video). Associated British Foods plc. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  5. ^ Primark joins Ethical Trading Initiative - Press Release - ETI
  6. ^ Labour Behind the Label
  7. ^ War On Want : Corporate accountability : Fashion Victims
  8. ^ Asda, Primark and Tesco accused over clothing factories | Business | The Guardian
  9. ^ The sweatshop high street - more brands under fire | Business | The Guardian
  10. ^ a b BBC NEWS | Business | Ministers pressed on child labour
  • Alam, Khorshed; M. Hearson (2006-12-08). Fashion Victimes (pdf). War on Want. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
  • Kehoe, Ian. "The very private Ryan", Sunday Business Post, 2006-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
  • Primark Stores Ltd, www.primark.co.uk
  • The Independent Newspaper, UK, Dec 2005/ July 2007hi ghffggdsdc
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