Well worth the queue (Primark)

Member Name: excelsior81

Product:	Primark
Date:	02/08/09 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: High fashion at low prices

Disadvantages: An ethical policy that needs to be clarified

Ok...so here is the deal. Today I was in Primark and I noted that some people who were in the queue were complaining about how long they had to wait...the first thing that came to my mind was 'are they for real!?!' If you can purchase a T-shirt for less than three pounds, do you really think you will get the quality of service that you may get in say...Marks and Spencers?

Primark has been a staple of the High Street for a number of years, but it is really in the last five years that it has become one of the major successes of the high street. I think this was mainly due to the business model that they developed, which has ultimately proved to be one of the best in the current climate...buy lots, sell cheap and importantly, cut out any middle men.

People often bemoan Primark for selling clothes at such cheap prices, but in fairness ot the model that they follow, supermarkets have been doing this forever, they much prefer when we buy their own branded products as a greater cut of the profits go directly to them. I think Primark should be congratulated for their model..not that it does not have its faults.

Primark often hits the press with accusations of paying slave wages or using children to work 12 hour shifts for pennies a day. I do not know enough about it as yet to make a full comment, but what I would say in their defence (if one can defend such behaviour) is that major companies around the world have been exploiting poorer countries for years, it is a well known fact for example, that Nike will never make a pair of trainers in the United States again, it is just too expensive to pay American workers, they instead, pay very small wages to third world workers...yet generally, they get away with this form of exploitation.

I have had the opportunity to visit Primark stores up and down the country and I for one have been impressed, sometimes simply staggered with the volume of clothes they have on sale and also, just how cheap they are. Today, for example, I purchased four t-shirts, three pairs of socks and a new hooded top all for twenty three pounds. It seems bizarre almost to be paying such a small amount, but if you look at it from a different point of view, perhaps it just shows us how much money companies make from clothes in other stores.

It is no surprise to me also, that other stores have decided to adopt the model of high volume and low margin. A recent trip to HMV demonstrated this brilliantly, wall to wall DVD and CD bargains...yet the store looked like a jumble sale and had lost some of the 'image' I had expected with such a major store.

I think after visiting so many Primark stores that I can safely say that each store is slightly different in what they stock. Today, as an example, the store had a much better selection of clothes for men...a look around at the local high street where I was staying showed me why, the main shops were all for womens clothing so competition was high, yet there was not even a Next for men within walking distance.

A week ago I visited another store that had a huge shoe section for women, again, I did the same study and found that there were few shoe stores on the high street directly around the Primark store.

I obviously, focus upon the mens clothes and am a huge fan of some of their clothing. This year, I have found the shoes to be particularly brilliant and I am proud to wear an almost identical copy of a pair of pumps that I saw in other stores for thirty to fifty pounds that I paid less than three pounds for. Their t-shirts too are some of the best on the market for men. Up until a few months ago, I would shop around for t-shirts in five or six different stores, now I choose to go straight to Primark and buy from there. Their designs are edgy and responsive to market change. You can almost guarantee that if something is going to be big in the fashion world, then Primark will copy it (the tailored shorts I purchased for eight pounds are a testament to this).

There are some great bargains to be had for work shirts too, although due to their high polyester content, you do often have to wash them at fifty degrees or above...or risk a lingering body odour!!!

Some of the clothes do, like with many other stores leave a lot to be desired. I am not a fan of their jeans which I find to often to be cut almost clumsily. Their suits too do not fit well, although I have noticed that there are more and more fitted items coming into the stores recently. I purchased a great fitted shirt in light cottom last weekend for six pounds, which has been very well executed.

As well as clothes, you can also have a good peruse around the home wear departments, which you can find in the majority of their stores. Items such as towels and bathroom equipment are usually very cheap and are ideal for someone starting out who wants to have a cutting edge appartment or house, but cannot afford the more expensive stores.

All of the above makes me appreciate and understand the reason why I have to queue so long at Primark and I think that it is worth it. Sure, you do not get the best customer service in the world, but I have always found the staff on the tills to be friendly and polite. The managers have proven to be helpful too and they will always ensure that you pay the right price.

To make Primark even better I would hope that they would consider the following things.

1) Improve the till queue area, making it wider for people with buggies or in wheelchairs, it often feels like a tight squeeze.

2) Do not offer me the hangers! Save your store even more money by having a policy to recycle them all the time.

3) Come clean on your ethical policy. If you have exploited in the past but this is no longer the case then tell us about it. It will make you even more successful in the long run.

4) Reduce the prices straight away rather than at the tills. I often get frustrated when I get to the tills and the items I am purchasing are cheaper than I thought..not becuase it is cheaper, but because I always like to pay with the right amount of cash if possible!

5) Lose the sale racks...I can never quite believe when I see them in your stores..surely there is just no need!

Primark is a success because it is responsive to the needs of the current climate. It may not prove to be as popular in the future when the economic recovery starts to happen (if it ever does) as people will move back to mre expensive labels perhaps? Or will they become loyal shoppers at Primark like I am and ensure that whenever I need new clothes, Primark is always at the top of my list.

Summary: Price busting greatness