Known for its value-driven fashion, discount department store chain Primark is stepping up its game in the U.S.with a bold new marketing strategy. After nearly a decade of strategic expansion, the global retailer is now ready to take its presence to the next level with its first nationwide brand campaign and a flagship store in Manhattan.
With 29 stores in 12 states, Primark is seizing the moment to connect with a growing audience, capturing the attention of shoppers drawn to affordable style and the brand’s vibrant in-store atmosphere. From opening its first Manhattan flagship to launching its U.S. brand campaign, Primark officials are betting on a strategic blend of in-store experience and digital engagement to elevate awareness and drive long-term growth.
In an interview with PYMNTS, Rene Federico, U.S. head of marketing at Primark, said the brand’s expansion has been deliberate and focused, but recent milestones have accelerated growth and brought new opportunities.
“Since Primark opened its first U.S. store in Boston nearly 10 years ago, the brand has been taking a strategic approach to expanding its footprint here, ensuring that every single location and market it enters is the right fit for the brand and our customer,” Federico said. “We’re still operating this way to this day, but we’ve now reached a point where our growth is happening more quicky and is more widespread as our U.S. footprint reaches far beyond the Northeast into the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Texas.”
Significant milestones from 2024 include surpassing 1 million square feet of retail selling space in the U.S., opening a distribution center in Jacksonville, Florida, announcing its first Manhattan location in Herald Square, which will serve as a flagship location for the brand and launching its first U.S. brand campaign, Federico said.
“Given the massive momentum we’re seeing, it was the right time for us to prioritize a more robust marketing strategy and introduce more Americans to the joy of Primark,” she said.
In markets like Ireland and the U.K., Federico noted, Primark (known as Penney’s in Ireland) is as familiar as household names like McDonald’s or Starbucks.
“The idea that there are many people who don’t know what Primark is or what we offer is unfathomable to shoppers in Ireland or the U.K., where we are synonymous with style, quality, and affordability,” Federico said. “But being newer to the U.S. retail landscape and with a limited number of stores, our first brand campaign, ‘That’s So Primark,’ had a big job to do. The campaign drove home our key messages of style, quality and affordability, and served as the first impression we needed with shoppers in the New York-metro area where we ran the campaign.”
Capitalizing on this momentum, Federico said Primark is prioritizing awareness across the U.S.
“We have an interesting opportunity in the U.S. in that, apart from the communities where we have stores, we have remained relatively unknown until recently,” she said. “In the past, we’ve relied on word of mouth to share the excitement around Primark’s affordable, quality products across essentials, fashion, beauty, and home, and that’s proven to be extremely successful for us. As we enter this next phase of growth in the U.S. market, there’s immense opportunity for us to show up in new and unique ways and our upcoming spring campaign is part of this broader strategy.”
While the focus is on expanding Primark’s presence through in-store experiences and marketing efforts, Federico said the company recognizes the role of its website in customer engagement.
“As an exclusively brick-and-mortar retailer, we see the Primark website as a beacon for customers to browse their favorite collections and fall in love with the affordable fashion and variety of offerings we carry,” she said. “Our website allows shoppers to engage with our products and check which ones are available in their local store, which helps improve shoppers’ in-store experience before they even step foot inside.”
This strategy extends beyond the store and website, Federico added, noting social media platforms like TikTok and Meta help create connections with potential customers. Social media’s influence on consumer behavior in the retail sector is significant, according to PYMNTS Intelligence research, which finds 43% of consumers use social media platforms to discover products and services.
“As we focus on growing Primark’s presence in the U.S. and globally, we’ve leaned into building our influencer roster and bolstering our social strategy,” she said. “Our social platforms are an extension of Primark’s in-store shopping experience and whether U.S. shoppers are discovering us for the first time or consider themselves Primark loyalists, it’s our job to bring awareness to those shoppers about what’s in store today and what’s coming tomorrow and get them excited about who we are and what our brand has to offer.”
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