Primark has defied the high street exodus to open its biggest store, in Birmingham, offering cafes, a beauty salon and a barbers.
About 300 shoppers, some of whom arrived as early as 6am, queued to enter the 160,000sq ft store, which opened up 12 minutes early at 9.48am on Thursday.
The five-floor building has three food venues, including a Disney-themed cafe, a Disney shopping area, a nailbar, hair and beauty studio in partnership with London’s Duck & Dry, a barbers and a Hogwarts Wizarding World area.
The store, developed from the former Pavilions centre which housed more than 49 shops, overtakes Primark’s 150,000sq ft Manchester outlet. The company has 365 stores across Europe and the US.
The outlet will also offer customers the opportunity to donate used clothes and shoes – of any brand – for recycling, and provides a service that prints customised T-shirts and other garments.
Kaz Newton, 31, and her daughter Megan Baron, 11, said they had been disappointed not to be able to get into the Disney cafe because of the queues but concluded “it was good”.
“There’s absolutely loads there,” said Newton, adding that the pair had travelled from Cheltenham especially to visit the shop. “It’s good value for money and the quality of the clothes is good these days.”
Four members of the Dyble family had all bought something in the store. Amy, 18, had been drawn by the Disney and Harry Potter areas and her father, Lee, was impressed by the quality of clothes for low prices and the range of eateries.
“It’s a bit like Ikea, the restaurant and cafe make it a day out,” he said. “From the perspective of the high street at the moment, for Primark to invest this amount of money in a flagship like this when bigger stores are closing down is amazing.”
Primark, which does not sell online despite having more than 14 million followers on social media, has continued to open new space just as established chains including Marks & Spencer, New Look and Next have been downsizing.
Tim Kelly, Primark’s director of new business development, said: “Our customers can expect a great experience at Primark Birmingham High Street.
“They can spend time with friends and family, eat great food, recharge and have fun, and find everything under one roof, including fashion, beauty and homeware – all at an amazing price.”
Kelly told the Guardian that Primark aimed to take some of the services, such as Duck & Dry beauty studio and theMills barbers, to other stores as part of a plan to expand services for shoppers.
“We want people to walk in and say ‘I didn’t realise Primark did that.’ Service is becoming a greater part of retail but our focus is on the right product at the right price. Service and experience is an additional driver [for shoppers].”
The store will employ more than 1,000 people.
