Primark, the value-driven Irish fashion retailer that operates as Penneys in its home market, has opened its first store in New York. The outlet in the Staten Island Mall is Primark's seventh US store since entering the market 18 months ago.
The 55,000sq ft store will employ about 200 staff, selling Primark’s full range of womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, as well as homeware, beauty products and gifts.
Primark entered the US market in September 2015, with a store at Downtown Crossing in Boston. It has since opened in King of Prussia Mall and Willow Grove Mall in Pennsylvania, Freehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey, Danbury Fair Mall in Connecticut, and Burlington Mall in Massachusetts.
The chain has previously announced plans to also open in three further locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York.
Primark is domiciled and run from Dublin, but it is owned by the listed Associated British Foods (ABF)group, linked to the Weston family.
In a recent note to shareholders ABF warned that Primark, which has 330 stores in 11 countries, was being held back by weak sterling, which would likely wipe out like-for-like sales growth of 2 per cent in its next half-year results.
