Primark Home Targets Affordable Homeware Sector With Standalone Stores
📝 usncan Note: Primark Home Targets Affordable Homeware Sector With Standalone Stores
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Primark is diversifying, with two new standalone Home stores now open. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
© 2012 Bloomberg Finance LP
Fast fashion retailer Primark has opened its first standalone Primark Home store on the U.K. mainland at Manchester’s Trafford Palazzo center, which debuted on Friday 29 August.
Spanning two floors and nearly 12,000-square-feet, the new store includes a huge range of homeware and lifestyle merchandise, while Primark’s homeware range has moved out of its main Trafford Palazzo store, creating room for an expanded womenswear section in the store.
The new store, which follows the debut of the standalone Primark Home concept in Belfast, Northern Ireland earlier this year, will also feature Primark’s elevated Edit collection, including tableware, towels, 500-thread count bedding and luxury home fragrances. Meanwhile, a dedicated Travel Shop within the store includes a range of travel essentials.
The Primark Home offer also includes essentials like cotton bedding and towels, plus glasses and plates, table decor and teddy bear bedding.
Primark debuted the format just 100 yards away from its flagship Bank Buildings store, in Belfast, which spans 8,700-square-feet across one floor and opened in March this year.
The Fountain House building was previously used as a temporary location for Primark from 2019 to 2022 while the Bank Buildings store was renovated following a fire in 2018.
Asked why Belfast was chosen for the retailer’s first standalone homeware store, area manager Jacqui Byers said it was a “continuation of the investment” that the retailer has put into the city.
“Belfast is the perfect place because we simply love Belfast,” she said. “The people of Belfast have been very good to us over the years and it’s a continuation of the investment that we have made in Belfast city centre over the years with our Bank Buildings store.”
Primark Home Market Disruptor
Primark’s decision to open standalone Home stores reflects both a shift in consumer demand and a strategic move to strengthen its position in the lifestyle and interiors market. The homeware segment has steadily grown into one of its strongest categories, while the retailer continues to largely avoid online.
The company said that its customers have increasingly been looking for value-led but stylish and accessible home products and the launch of dedicated home-focused stores signals that Primark has identified a major opportunity to expand beyond apparel and become a destination for everyday living.
Primark is looking to expand beyond apparel and to test new formats and merchandise.
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The opening also reflects broader changes in shopping habits. Since the pandemic, there has been a surge of consumer interest in home improvement and interior decor, as people have spent more time at home and invested in making their spaces more comfortable and personal.
By creating a standalone store that focuses solely on home products, Primark is hoping to showcase the breadth of its range more effectively, rather than having it dispersed within its fashion-led stores and provides it with a chance to compete more directly with European rivals such as IKEA, H&M Home, Zara Home and the major supermarkets, which also have strong interiors offerings.
Primark Home Can Test Formats
Strategically, the standalone concept is also a way to test new formats and locations. While Primark’s traditional stores thrive in city centres and large shopping centers, the home store model could work well in out-of-town, suburban or strip mall locations, where shoppers are accustomed to visiting for big-ticket home and lifestyle purchases.
If the format proves successful, it could also open the door to further rollouts, including to its growing U.S. portfolio.
Away from Primark Home, the retailer also recently revealed that it is giving its Manchester Market Street flagship a new look, including a new performance wear area, a refresh of its RAWR beauty studio and the launch of Primark’s new pre-loved offer, with works expected to complete this month.
