Fashion giant Primark has opened the doors to a new store in Bolton that brings its new store concept to the UK for the first time as it eyes further opportunities in new markets.
Having opened the first of its new concept stores in Montijo, Portugal, at the end of October, the Bolton opening marks the second in Primark’s trial of a newer so-called “smaller” store format.
The fashion retailer also revealed it plans to open another of its new concept stores in Spain during spring/summer next year.
The new concept stores will differ from existing Primark stores as they have been designed to typically span one floor, feature new store layouts, offer a streamlined product offering and use more sustainable materials to create a refreshed look and feel for customers.
Primark director of space optimisation and store design Mark Jordan, speaking exclusively to Retail Week, said the new concept has been in the works for around 18 months with a focus on optimising space and improving the customer experience.
“Some of the key principles around this format include that we ideally want one floor stores and the reason is that you can maximise the selling space within a single floor store,” Jordan said.
“Historically, Primark has always had big stock rooms but where we’ve evolved over the last two or three years is that we are much more efficient in the way the product flows from the warehouse onto the sales floor.
“The second thing is layout. We’ve created three distinct blocks of space which is essentially a womenswear zone that includes clothing, accessories, footwear, beauty, and lingerie and nightwear, pulling all of those products together, as well as menswear and kidswear zones.
“We have also reduced our walkway grid, which allows people to go on more of an exploration. We haven’t put a traditional walkway into the space and guided people through the building as usual, we’ve actually let them go and explore the space and that’s come to be really positive with our experience so far in Montijo.”
Jordan says the flexibility of the kit used on the new concept stores has allowed Primark to tailor the new store fit based on the individual market and its demand.
Speaking about the thinking behind the launch of new concept stores, Jordan says it’s all about further opportunities for Primark to expand its ever-growing store estate.
“This smaller store format enables us to have stores of circa 15,000 to 25,000 sq ft so we can enter markets that would have previously been considered not big enough for a Primark store.
“This therefore opens and unlocks lots of opportunities in markets such as Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, where we’ve got great performance and a strong brand recognition but there are lots of smaller cities and towns outside of the big cities.
“If we don’t come up with a smaller format, it would suppress opportunities we’ve got in those markets.”
The Bolton opening however, is an upsize in space, increasing from the previous 20,800 sq ft store to 26,300 sq ft and coming as part of Primark’s £100m investment into its UK store estate this year.
Jordan revealed the trial of a new format in Bolton was opportunistic and stressed that this won’t be the end of larger scale openings at Primark, but that’s it’s about finding the right size for the right market moving forward.
“We’ve taken one of three floors of the old Debenhams and it’s repurposed old space that was empty for sometime since Debenhams went into demise. This is where it is happening [in Bolton] and where the fashion retailers all operate.
“It was an opportunity in terms of our roadmap as we knew when this was opening but it also just gave us an opportunity to start from scratch on a new design.
“I think what it proves is Primark’s commitment not just to the high street but to markets that previously were maybe considered not the right market to invest in but we believe it is.”
While Jordan says customers can anticipate to wait several months for the fourth, fifth and sixth of its new store concept openings, he expects the business to “embrace this design in lots of stores going forward”.
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