Insight into Primark's successful business approach

The secrets behind the success of Primark.

Becky Waller-Davis writes that, while its proposition of selling the cheapest trend-led product on the high street is key, its culture and eye for detail should also be recognised.

As other retailers on the High Streets fight to stay afloat, Primark's unbeaten run continues with its largest results with the value retailer beating the market yet again.

According to Richard Hyman, retail analyst, on reason for Primark's success is its softly, softly approach. Primark has been building its success slowing in the background, one store at a time. Primark burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s with its very first Oxford Street flagship. Primark's step-by-step management allows for the fine tuning of the business model along the way and in the presence of a bump in the market.

In line with the soft business model approach, Primark has developed its range gradually starting with a clothing line that put Primark on the map. Primark could have entered into the beauty landscape as well, but, rather than diving straight in Primark dipped in and out of the market for beauty letting the results inform and tailor its strategy. Today, Primark's PS beauty range brings in £98m, excluding VAT according to GlobalData estimates.

Primark then put itself on the global market, but again, slowly opening 9 stores in three years in the US. It took the retailer just a decade to open 45 stores in Spain and with the monumental success of Primark to date, the step-by-step approach holds water.

Primark's journey within the retail environment stems from a stellar clothing brand with branches weaving into other areas within the retail landscape. In 2013 Primark experimented by selling on Asos using a third-party marketspace however the outcome was not what was wanted and therefore Primark stopped the trial. Although the approach of declining to adapt when the retail world changes is a strategy that is unreliable, Primark, in taking on the approach continues to thrive with the sales per square root raising from £475 in 2013/14 to £490 in 2017/18.

Primark isn't ignoring the digital world but has taken on an alternative route within the digital marketspace investing in a social media presence alongside of feeding money into the stores environment. Primark's fascination and even obsession with merchandise and details is how Primark is thriving within the moulding and transitioning retail landscape and why Primark is unique within itself.

What can you learn from Primark?

Sometimes it works to go against the trends and take or try alternative routes to getting to where you want to be. Understanding what Primark has done to get where it is today just emphasises how fragile and unpredictable the consumer and retail landscape is. Take everything with a pinch of salt. 

Things to consider as 2019 approaches:

• Business appraoch
• Where you want to be in two-years
• What your long term goals are
  

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