The way we shop has changed beyond recognition over the past five decades, from the rise of online shopping to the death of department stores, not to mention spending booms and busts and a pandemic.
All of which makes Primark’s half century on the British high street, reached on Thursday, an impressive milestone.
With 450 stores in 17 countries, and annual sales of £9bn, Primark is unrecognisable from the retailer that skipped across the Irish sea to make its debut on Babington Lane, Derby, 50 years ago.
Back then shoppers queued up to buy women’s tweed coats for £9.50 and crepe blouses for 99p. In a sign of the times, Opportunity Knocks presenter Hughie Green cut the ribbon. Today its celebrity partners are the pop star Rita Ora and earlier this year it revealed plans to invest £100m in its UK stores, including new openings.
The business has marketed itself on the promise of “making clothing affordable and accessible to everyone” and it was this mission that drove founder Arthur Ryan to open Primark’s very first store, Penneys, which remains the Irish brand name, in Dublin in 1969.
He saw an opportunity in the British market and took over a grocery store owned by its parent company Associated British Foods. Although the name changed to Primark, it still had the same aim of offering women’s, men’s and children’s clothing at low prices.
From day one Primark was a hit as shoppers bagged V-neck Shetland sweaters for £2.85. More store openings followed and in the 90s it stepped up a gear by acquiring stores from big names such as C&A and BHS.
However it was not until it bought Littlewoods in 2005, adding 41 new stores in one swoop, that Primark became a household name. A store on London’s Oxford Street followed two years later and, in a sign of its pull on shoppers, thousands queued up to get in.
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Over the years Primark would earn the nickname “Primarni”, as it proved to be adept at converting catwalk trends into purse-friendly high-street clothes. A major coup came in 2005 when its on-trend military jacket appeared in the pages of the fashion bible Vogue.
Those opening day prices in Derby look keen by today’s standards but low prices remain its calling card and would become a source of criticism amid concerns about the environmental cost of fast fashion. It also had to weather a number of scandals over the years around labour conditions in its supply chain.
The huge rise in online shopping would result in thousands of high street closures but Primark has always been a big believer in physical stores and somewhat of an internet refusenik. However, it appears to be mellowing with age with plans to roll out a click and collect service around the country.