- ‘Preemark’ signs and window displays appear overnight in all 21 of the retailer’s stores across Scotland.
- Scottish shoppers can enjoy the rebrand from today until Sunday 24th August as the retailer marks 50 years on the Scottish high street this summer.
- The celebrations were inspired by Primark’s viral Instagram post earlier this year, designed to settle the debate once and for all on how to pronounce its iconic name.
Scottish shoppers will hardly believe it when they see it today as Primark finally relents on one of its biggest brand debates after 50 years.
To mark 50 years of Primark on Scotland’s high streets in style with both customers and colleagues, the retailer is tipping its hat to celebrate with a ‘Preemark’ rebrand, which has appeared in all 21 of its Scottish stores overnight.
The full ‘Preemark’ store takeovers are now live in Hamilton, Edinburgh Princes Street and Glasgow’s Argyle Street, alongside fun ‘Preemark’ themed window activations in its remaining 18 Scottish stores up and down the country.
Scots can enjoy the retailer’s significant milestone in every store until Sunday 24th August. The celebrations are a ‘wee nod’ to how most Scots pronounce the popular brand name as ‘Pr-EE-mark’.
This comes after the retailer tried to settle the debate about how to pronounce its brand in an Instagram post that went viral earlier this year. The ongoing speculation ranges from how most people know it, ‘Pr-EYE-mark’, to ‘Pr-AYE-mark’ and the favoured Scottish ‘Pr-EE-mark’.
Gavin O’Reilly, Area Manager for Primark Scotland West and Cumbria, who currently oversees Primark’s first store in Hamilton, Scotland, said: “Our loyal Scottish shoppers have been instrumental to our success over the last 50 years, so we thought it was high time we acknowledged it in true Primark style.
“It’s a proud moment for all our stores to be celebrating our milestone together with a fun ‘Preemark’ nod, which is simply what we know our Scottish shoppers and colleagues are calling us every day anyway!”
‘Pree-marking’ half a century in Scotland
Today, Primark has 21 stores covering over 755,000 sq. ft of retail space across Scotland’s much-loved towns, city centres and retail parks, and employs over 2,637 retail colleagues nationally.
From day one, Primark was a hit with Scottish shoppers who initially queued up for its “unbeatable” opening offers in its first store in Hamilton, during the summer of 1975, including women’s tweed coats for £9.50, printed crepe blouses for 99p and briefs for 25p.
Across menswear, V-neck Shetland sweaters were sold for £2.85, poly-cotton shirts for 99p and socks for 23p. Children’s clothing highlights included slacks for 99p, ‘car coats’ for £1.99 and pinafore dresses for £1.65.
Over the years, some of its most popular products in Scotland include velour tracksuits – popular in the early 2000s – as well as a gold sequin dress and Saltire beach towels. Made exclusively for Scottish shoppers, the retailer has produced a line of Scottish pyjamas, Edinburgh-themed t-shirts from £3.00 and more recently its Scotland Euros t-shirts.
From its first and smallest store in Hamilton at just 9,300 sq. ft to the largest store on Edinburgh Princes Street, covering 73,900 sq. ft with stunning views of Edinburgh Castle, Primark has continued to grow in size and scale. Its in-store experience has evolved to now feature beauty studios, nail salons and a wide choice of destination cafes – including its popular evolving cafés in Edinburgh and Braehead.
Over the past three years, Primark has invested over £20 million in its stores which includes significant upgrades to stores in Clydebank, Hamilton, Stirling and Irvine so far this year. It has also introduced self-service checkouts and its popular Click & Collect service to all stores in Scotland.
Now every Primark shopper can access the full range, ordering online and collecting more easily and conveniently from their local store in just two days. Looking ahead, the retailer has confirmed it plans to invest a further £9 million in its Scottish stores over the next two years as it reaffirms its commitment to Scottish retail.
Kari Rodgers, UK Retail Director at Primark, said: “The high streets and fashions have changed a lot over five decades in Scotland, and Primark has been there every step of the way.
“As we’ve evolved to meet this change in demand, our commitment to offering people great quality clothing at affordable prices is stronger than ever. There is such pride in our stores in Scotland and our customers feel it too, so it’s fantastic to be celebrating such an important milestone together.
“Over the last three years we’ve invested more than £20 million in our stores across Scotland and we’ve a further £9 million planned over the next two years to improve our stores and support the future of Scottish retail.”
Across the UK, Primark operates 197 stores, including 21 in Scotland, and employs 30,000 colleagues. Meanwhile, 2.3 million people every week cite Primark as the main reason for visiting their local high street, and for every £10 spent in a Primark, shoppers spend an additional £3.60 which produces a positive economic ripple effect for local high streets*.
Timeline of Primark’s stores in Scotland
- August 1975 – Hamilton, 29 Quarry Street, ML3 7AW
- June 1995 – Motherwell, 20-26 Brandon Place South, ML1 1RB
- September 1999 – Clydebank, Unit 2, 117 Sylvania Way, G81 2RR
- March 2001 – Stirling, Goosecroft Road, FK8 2EA
- April 2001 – Braehead, Unit 1a, Braehead Shopping Centre, G51 4BS
- May 2001 – Aberdeen, 152 Union Street, AB11 6BH
- June 2001 – Dundee, 40 High Street, DD1 1TU
- April 2002 – Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3ER
- April 2003 – East Kilbride, Unit 4, Plaza Shopping Centre, G74 1LW
- June 2006 – Ayr, Unit 8, Taran Walk, Kyle Street, KA7 1TU
- September 2006 – Argyle Street, Glasgow, G2 8AG
- October 2006 – Park Head, Glasgow, G31 4EB
- October 2006 – Inverness, 16-18 Bridge Street, IV1 1HG
- November 2006 – Greenock, Oak Mall Shopping Centre, PA15 1JW
- December 2006 – Dunfermline, 127-137 High Street, KY12 7DR
- March 2007 – Irvine, Unit 46, Rivergate Centre, KA12 8EH
- November 2010 – Perth, 134-148 High Street, PH1 5UH
- December 2011 – Livingston, The Centre, EH54 6HR
- December 2011 – Edinburgh Princes Street, The Centre, EH54 6HR
- December 2015 – Fort Kinnaird, The Centre, EH54 6HR
- December 2024 – Glasgow Fort, G34 9DL