Is Rome Primark’s new favorite city? Within seven months, the Irish fast fashion giant has opened two stores in the capital: the first in November 2020, 7 thousand square meters in the new Maximo shopping center, the second on June 1, in the spaces of the Roma Est one. Certainly they were excellent the results of the first months of the arrival in Rome, an opening that marked the expansion of Primark towards central-southern Italy after its debut in 2016: “Roma Maximo went well beyond expectations”, reads the ‘interim report released on April 20 by ABF – Associated British Food, the British giant with a turnover of 14 billion pounds that controls the retailer.
The store in Rome is part of the plan of eight new openings in Italy expected within the next 24 months, and announced at the end of March by the company: “The successes in Arese, Milan, Verona and Florence made us decide to move towards the center , with the first store in Rome – says Luca Ciuffreda, Head of Sales of Primark Italia -. It was a great challenge, as we were in the midst of the pandemic. Now the opening program will continue in Catania, Chieti, Caserta, in Milan in via Torino, where our headquarters for Italy, Bologna, Turin and Venice will also be located ».
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A difficult year, but in recovery
Primark is present in 14 countries, all in Europe except the United States, and is also about to make its debut in the Czech Republic. The expansion has not stopped despite the pandemic: “Another encouraging fact is that in 2020 we opened 12 new points sales around the world, employing 2,500 people ”, he continues. Of course, Covid has given a push to Primark’s accounts: the turnover of the 390 stores active in 2021, according to the latest data released by ABF covering a period from September 2020 to February 2021, was equal to 2.232 billion pounds, in 40% drop on the previous year. The shops in the shopping streets of the historic centers of the cities were particularly losing ground, due to the lack of tourists and workers kept at home by smartworking.
«2021 still has some critical issues, no doubt – says Ciuffreda -, but we are confident, also through this new shop, that it will employ 350 people. We have received 10,000 applications and 60% of our employees have found a job after losing it, while 20% are in their first experience: the youngest is 18, the most mature 62 and is close to retirement. Half of the store’s 130 managers are internally grown people who started out as retail assistants ».
The e-commerce option is on the table
The centrality of the store, of the physical experience of the purchase, is what keeps Primark away from e-commerce for now. A choice that has undoubtedly had negative repercussions, especially compared to competitors who have kept up with online sales, when the stores have been closed for many months: «In the digital world we are very successful, our followers are 22 million. The possibility of opening e-commerce is on our table, we are examining it. We do not exclude anything. However, for us and for our customers the in-store experience remains central: it’s fun, in the shops you can find everything, fashion, with our collaborations, items for the home, beauty, tech. We offer wifi and relaxation areas and in some flagships, such as the one in Birmingham or the Gran Via in Madrid, we also have a bar. In short, our focus remains the physical, but we are always sifting through new opportunities ».