Prague is set to experience its first bout of ‘Primania’, when exuberant crowds rush into a new Primark store as its doors open for the first time. Flow East, the Czech developer of The Flow Building at Wenceslas Square 47, announced on 25 July that Primark will be its anchor retail tenant at its flagship mixed-use development when it opens sometime during 2020.

This will be Primark’s first store in the Czech Republic. The value fashion retailer has said it is targeting the Central and Eastern European region as part of its expansion plan to secure another 100,000 square metres of new retail space across Europe in 2019. Its first store in CEE was opened earlier this year in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, which helped Primark reach 372 stores in total across 12 markets, including the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany and the US. Primark executives say agreements to open stores in Poland are also in the works.  

Securing Primark as a tenant is certainly a coup for Flow East. The discount retailer, owned by Associated British Foods, is a bright spot in an increasingly gloomy landscape for traditional big format bricks-and-mortar retailers.

LOW PRICES, HIGH FASHION

Primark’s allure, which has seen its revenue soar almost four-fold over the past decade and its number of stores double, is its offer of current trends and fashions at incredibly low prices. The ultimate in fast fashion, the business model encourages consumers to buy lots of items, discard them after a few outings and then come back for more new outfits. For a typically cost-conscious Czech customer base, it is sure to be a winning formula.

Primark has also reinvented the department store for the modern age, when a new ‘experiential’ aspect to shopping is putting the onus on landlords and developers to come up with new concepts to draw people in. Abandoning the ‘stack ’em high’ formula of other discount retailers, Primark prefers to think of its large stores as ‘concept stores’ that offer a boutique feel, even though they occupy large spaces – in Prague’s case, almost 5,000 square metres over three floors – which can be adapted quickly to customers’ changing tastes.

Primark stores also often feature a variety of other attractions such as “trend rooms” that showcase the latest looks, changing rooms that have “show and share” areas where groups of friends can try on outfits, beauty and nail salons, hipster barbers and cafes. Also bringing in the crowds is the fact Primark does not have an online presence, judging that its ultra-cheap prices do not fit well with home delivery.

HALO EFFECT

The experience of other cities where Primark has set up shop suggests its arrival should be good for the surrounding area of Wenceslas Square, which is somewhat in need of a retail renaissance. A new Primark store will surely have a halo effect on the surrounding area – this is called the ‘Primark effect’, when surrounding retailers report increased footfall and sales that last for several years, not just months, after it opens.

The Flow Building at #47 is part of a wider revitalisation of Prague’s iconic Wenceslas Square, which will see cars banned and trams return for the first time in four decades, alongside major renovations designed by Jakub Cigler Architects to the lower half of the square

A retail revolution is coming to Wenceslas Square – and Primark is leading the charge.