Primark was founded by Arthur Ryan in 1969 as Penney’s a shop in Mary Street, Dublin, to bring affordable clothes to Ireland.
Today they are an international retailer with more than 70,000 team members in 14 countries.
They have just entered their 15th market, Romania and do not seem to have plans to slow down.
They aim to open 27 new stores in the 2022/23 financial year, which includes the first store in Slovakia later this year, as well as in Hungary, which will be their 17th market.
The new Budapest store, in the Arena Mall shopping centre – one of the city’s biggest and busiest malls – will offer women’s, men’s and kid’s wear, beauty, lifestyle and homeware, and a wide selection of licensing ranges, such as NBA and Disney, as well as our sustainability-focused Primark Cares label.
They have have an ambitious plan for the US targeting 60 stores by the end of 2026. having first entered the US market in Boston in 2015 and now having a total of 16 US stores.
Today you’ll find Primark up and down the UK, across mainland Europe, expanding into Central and Eastern Europe and just getting going in the US. With over 400 stores in 14 countries in Europe and the US, they see opportunities for continued major growth in all their markets, expecting to reach 530 stores by the end of 2026.
Primark CEO, Paul Marchant said: “We are delighted to be continuing with our expansion plans and moving into Romania for the first time with a fantastic location secured in a popular shopping centre in the east of Bucharest. The response from customers in the CEE region to Primark has been really positive and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow and hope to open our doors to the people of Romania by the end of the year.”