see j. c. penney . primark stores ltd primark store in boston massachusetts opened in september 2015 native name penney s type subsidiary of associated british foods industry retail founded june 1969 in dublin ireland founders arthur ryan headquarters 45 47 mary street dublin 1 d01 nx45 ireland 1 number of locations 325 stores 2 3 area served united kingdom ireland europe and the united states 2 key people paul marchant ceo john lyttle coo steve lawton trading director jose luis martinez de larramendi head of spain and portugal division julian kilmartin buying and merchandising director 4 products clothing houseware cosmetics revenue 5 347m fy 2015 net income 673m fy 2015 number of employees over 57 000 5 parent associated british foods website primark.com primark branded as penneys in ireland is an irish clothing retailer operating in austria belgium france germany ireland portugal spain the netherlands the united kingdom the united states and italy . 6 7 it was founded and headquartered in dublin ireland . the company s international headquarters is registered in ireland . 8 its uk operations are registered in england and wales . 9 10 primark is a subsidiary of international food ingredients and retail group associated british foods . contents 1 history 2 products 3 stores 4 controversies 4.1 working practices 4.2 building collapse at savar 4.3 sos messages 5 stores 6 references 7 further reading 8 external links history edit primark was first opened by arthur ryan in june 1969 in mary street dublin under the name penneys . 11 further expansion and success in ireland led to the move to the united kingdom and in 1971 it opened a large store in belfast city centre before opening four out of town stores in england in 1973 . 12 in october 2011 primark opened its first concession model . primark is now stocked in selfridges department stores in trafford centre manchester the bull ring birmingham and oxford street london . 13 in 1973 when it opened its first english store in derby the first store outside ireland it couldn t use the name penneys because j. c. penney had the name registered . the name primark was then invented to use outside ireland . 5 primark has corporate headquarters in reading berkshire united kingdom and international headquarters in a redeveloped building in dublin ireland arthur ryan house opened in 2015 . 4 14 products edit primark offer a diverse range of products including new born and kids clothing womens wear mens wear home ware accessories footwear beauty products and confectionery . the company sells clothes at the low cost end of the market below average prices . along with retailers such as zara and h & m primark contributes to the contemporary fast fashion trend . according to an article about primark in the economist for many shoppers primark has an irresistible offer amazing trendy clothes at amazingly low prices . the result is a new and even faster kind of fast fashion which forces consumers to buy heaps of items sometimes even the same ones to use when the first ones worn out discard them after a few wears and then come back for another batch of new outfits . 15 stores edit primark in the former lewis s building in manchester city centre . world s second largest primark in madrid spain primark expanded rapidly in the uk in the mid 2000s . in 2005 they bought the littlewoods chain for 409m 16 retaining 40 of the 119 stores and selling the rest . they opened in the meadowhall centre in mid 2007 . 17 in may 2006 the first primark store outside ireland and the uk opened in madrid spain . in december 2008 primark opened its first stores in the netherlands followed in 2009 by its first stores in portugal germany and belgium . primark opened its first store in austria on 27 september 2012 in innsbruck this was followed by another store in vienna which opened in october 2012 . the world s largest primark store is located on market street manchester england occupying 155 000 sq ft 14 400 m2 of retail space across three floors . primark expanded to the united states in 2015 when it opened its first store in downtown crossing boston in the location that was once the flagship store of filene s. the other american store is located at the king of prussia mall the nation s largest mall near philadelphia . the third location opened in the danbury fair mall danbury ct in june 2016 . a fourth location opened on 16 july 2016 in the freehold raceway mall freehold nj . they occupy the upper level that sears abandoned . a fifth location opened in willow grove park mall near philadelphia shortly thereafter . primark operates stores in the following countries citation needed country number of stores united kingdom 179 spain 42 ireland 36 germany 22 netherlands 16 france 9 portugal 9 austria 5 united states 5 belgium 4 italy 2 controversies edit working practices edit in 2006 primark joined the ethical trading initiative a collaborative organisation bringing together businesses trades unions and ngos to work on labour rights issues in their supply chains . 18 eti members commit to working towards the implementation of a code of conduct based on the international labour organisation s core conventions . in december 2008 the uk charity war on want launched a new report fashion victims ii that showed conditions had not improved in bangladeshi factories supplying primark two years after the charity first visited them . 19 on 9 january 2009 a supplier was forced by eti to remove its branding from primark stores and websites following a bbc the observer investigation into the employment practices . the investigation alleged use of illegal immigrant labour and argued that the workers were paid less than the uk legal minimum wage . 20 on 16 june 2011 the bbc trust s editorial standards committee esc published its findings into a panorama programme 21 primark on the rack broadcast in june 2008 . the programme was an undercover investigative documentary examining poor working conditions in indian factories supplying primark . although primark subsequently stopped doing business with the indian supplier the esc concluded that footage in the programme was more likely than not to have been fabricated . 22 the esc directed the bbc to make an on air apology and to ensure that the programme was not repeated or sold to other broadcasters . primark created a specific website to deal with the issues around the programme . 23 in 2011 and 2012 primark achieved leader status in the ethical trading initiative eti . 24 building collapse at savar edit main article 2013 savar building collapse on 24 april 2013 the eight story rana plaza commercial building collapsed in savar a sub district near dhaka the capital of bangladesh . at least 1 127 people died and over 2 438 were injured . 25 the factory housed a number of separate garment factories employing around 5 000 people several shops and a bank 26 and manufactured apparel for brands including the benetton group joe fresh 27 the children s place primark monsoon and dressbarn . 28 29 primark paid compensation and emergency aid to the victims of the collapse citation needed a move which was welcomed by oxfam 30 and committed to review the structural integrity of buildings making its clothes . 31 of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the rana plaza factories only 9 attended meetings held in november 2013 to agree a proposal on compensation to the victims . several companies refused to sign including walmart carrefour mango auchan and kik . the agreement was signed by primark loblaw bonmarch and el corte ingl s. 32 33 34 sos messages edit in june 2014 two labels both stitched with sos messages were separately found in swansea purchased garments . 35 primark argued the supply chain showed these label messages were a hoax . 36 37 also in june 2014 a customer from ireland found an sos note wrapped in a prison id card in the pocket of trousers purchased from a primark store several years earlier . 38 39 the letter was written in chinese and alleged that prisoners were forced to work like oxen making fashion clothes for export for 15 hours per day and the food they were given wouldn t be fit for dogs or pigs . 40 a year and a half later an sos note from an alleged chinese torture victim was found in socks purchased from primark . 41 stores edit lincoln nottingham telford sheffield guildford birmingham relocating to the former pavilions merry hill formerly cargo home mk one index and wh smith wolverhampton formerly littlewoods hammersmith formerly littlewoods poole formerly littlewoods bournemouth formerly bhs worcester formerly bhs winchester formerly bhs kings lynn formerly bhs canterbury formerly bhs bath spa formerly bhs cardiff formerly bhs white city opening soon liverpool formerly littlewoods portsmouth formerly littlewoods southampton formerly marks & spencer northampton formerly house of fraser originally beatties southport formerly littlewoods stratford city manchester redditch formerly allders coventry formerly allders fort shopping park formerly wh smith gloucester formerly littlewoods bristol formerly house of fraser originally lewiss croydon formerly littlewoods lakeside formerly allders romford formerly littlewoods west bromwich walsall lancaster opening soon truro opening soon blackburn plymouth carlisle gateshead references edit 1 the journal . retrieved 14 april 2016 a b primark our stores . retrieved 15 february 2016 . primark about us . retrieved 15 february 2016 . a b snapshot primark stores limited bloomberg . retrieved 11 february 2016 a b a household irish name built from humble beginnings the penneys story it all began in dublin s fair city in 1969 the journal ireland 1 march 2015 accessed 15 february 2016 primark to open in the united states . telegraph.co.uk . 23 april 2014 . redazione 31 august 2014 . primark la catena di shopping low cost arriva in italia . velvet style italia . primark holdings . solocheck.ie . mccabe sarah 29 november 2013 . expansion plans on course for penneys international hq in dublin . irish independent . retrieved 20 october 2014 . about us . primark . retrieved 20 october 2014 . fashion swing is felt by penneys owners . independent.ie . the rise and rise of primark . aol money . retrieved 25 march 2014 . opposites attract primark to open its first concessions ... in selfridges . mail online . primark officially opens redeveloped dublin hq rt dublin ireland thursday 17 september 2015 faster cheaper fashion . the economist . 5 september 2015 . retrieved 5 september 2015 . finch julia 8 august 2005 . m & s to cash in as littlewoods disappears . the guardian . london . laura chesters 29 august 2006 . next and primark to anchor meadowhall . property week . primark joins ethical trading initiative press release eti http www.waronwant.org campaigns supermarkets fashion victims inform 16360 fashion victims ii mcdougall dan 11 january 2009 . primark in storm over conditions at uk supplier . the guardian . london . retrieved 22 may 2010 . http www.bbc.co.uk bbctrust news press releases june panorama.shtml revoir paul 17 june 2011 . shamed bbc could lose prestigious tv award over faked footage of child labour in primark panorama expose . daily mail . london . primark panorama primark s response to the bbc s apology . primarkresponse.com . associated british foods plc responsibility responsibility in action primark ethical trade team . www.abf.co.uk . retrieved 8 september 2015 . ahmed saeed ; lakhani leone 14 june 2013 bangladesh building collapse an end to recovery efforts a promise of a new start cnn retrieved 16 december 2013 zain al mahmood syed 24 april 2013 . matalan supplier among manufacturers in bangladesh building collapse . the guardian . london . retrieved 21 october 2013 . clare o