10 Things Primark Could’ve Done To Swerve A £1 BILLION Loss.
Must be kinda nice being Primark.
While coronavirus, lockdowns and the shift to online has killed hundreds of fledgling businesses, the retail giant has taken the £1 Billion (Billion, with a B…) hit like a champ.
Imagine, at the same time, having thousands of customers practically begging you to sell them something on the daily. Just type Primark into Twitter and look at the results.
Now, obviously the brains behind Primark will have their reasons. I wholeheartedly doubt the marketing team are sitting around the boardroom table twiddling their thumbs just because they can’t be arsed to open an online store. Obviously, there’s more to it than that.
But it’s the sheer lack of activity that’s truly astonishing.
A brand as loved as Primark could do literally ANYTHING THEY WANTED, and fans would continue to worship them with biblical aplomb. For them to do nothing – NOTHING – online, is disappointing to say the least. We even did a podcast about it.
Building on the podcast, here’s 10 ideas that Queen P could’ve done in the last year or so that might’ve helped with that balance sheet.
1) JUST DROP THE STORE – like now.
Say nothing.
Just put the store online.
A regular, normal, transacting store, and act as if it’s been there for ages.
IMAGINE THE REACTION WHEN THE FANGIRLS & BOYS FIND OUT.
Like Beyonce when she dropped Lemonade in 2016 – this would be such a boss move and I’d just love to see it.
2) DON’T OFFER RETURNS
Is it that easy? Probably not.
But the ‘PrImArK DoNt NeEd An OnLiNe StOrE’ tribe cite high returns as one of the key reasons why it can’t happen.
Pull your head out of the sand for a minute. Yes all fashion websites offer returns, but are you seriously telling me that no one would shop there if the plain as day just didn’t let customers send their purchases back?! Have a day off.
While it would be horrendous for the planet, what I’m saying with this one is that you need to think bigger for Primark – don’t confine yourself to the regular Ecommerce constraints.
Think big.
3) LAUNCH: PRIMARNI.COM
Primark Lux.
Primark extra.
Primark Plus.
Primark on steroids.
Whatever you want to call it.
If Primark was online as it is, average order values would be low.
And low aov often means thin margins. And thin margins make it tough to run the business.
Why not go against the grain a little bit and launch a “luxury” range?
“That’s not Primark though, it’s just not what they do” I hear you say.
Think big, remember.
Primark could’ve used the opportunity to give themselves a facelift. Why couldn’t their online store not just have slightly more expensive stuff on it?! Are we really that shackled?
Ah well, if you can’t raise your prices….
4) Primark x Deliveroo.
A direct Primark and Deliveroo crossover might be quite difficult to pull off, but let’s take some inspiration from the kids on bikes with their huge backpacks.
Had they pulled their finger out, Primark could currently be boasting the absolutely mother of all Click and Collect offerings.
Other retailers have launched the click and collect with ease. My Girlfriend has had me back and forth to Dunelm. Because, you know, it’s a lockdown and we were desperate for faux eucalyptus for our mantelpiece, obviously…
Anyway.
Why not make use of those poor retail staff who are probably on furlough at the moment? With a click and collect, the stores pretty much become warehouses and the checkout boys and girls become the delivery staff.
Bicycle delivery probably not necessary, but it would be nice.
5) Leap in the future, big style.
Allow me to indulge the futurists.
Imagine a world where the Primark app has the same technology as the Uber app, tracking your location at all times.
And then, once you’ve shopped on the app, a few hours later, a Drone flies along with your order. In a Primark bag, as if you had bought it as normal.
You telling me that kinda thing isn’t gonna happen in our lifetime? Check out this list of things that weren’t invented 20 years ago.
6) Subscription, subscription, subscription.
Subscriptions are ace.
Reliable revenue that just drops into your bank account at regular intervals. And with enough time to prepare the deliveries, suddenly the picking and packaging concerns feel much easier.
What’s not to love here?
There are plenty of folks out there that would pay maybe twenty to forty quid into their Primark accounts every month. I’m almost certain they would be happy to wait a couple of weeks for the delivery.
7) The Primark Mystery Box subscription.
Ok, things might start to sound a bit weird now, but Steve Jobs sounded weird when he suggest a phone with no physical keyboard didn’t he.
The Primark brand is so strong, I’m convinced folks would buy a £20 box from them filled with random Primark goodies.
I’m imagining a world where thousands of fashion bloggers and influencers are posting videos of their Primark unboxings… All in the name of good content, right?!
I think it’s what the kids are into…
8) The Willy Wonka Effect…
Building on the Mystery Box Subscription, remember your favourite Roald Dahl movie?
Where Charlie opened a chocolate bar just hoping and praying that inside the wrapper would be a Golden Ticket.
Primark’s could golden ticket their mystery boxes… A few of their mystery boxes each month could contain some random goodies, and that would be a hello of an opportunity to collaborate with some other cool businesses.
I’m picturing that a few of the Primark mystery boxes might contain a Pandora Bracelet, A Playstation 5, A new iPhone, holiday vouchers, f*cking anything really.
Suddenly subscribing to the Primark box has become a bit like playing the lottery.. And imagine the social media eyeballs off the back of it. I’m not saying that one would be easy, but if the powers that be at Primark really wanted to, I’m sure they could pull it off.
9) Show some empathy.
The world is on it’s arse at the moment.
There are loads of folks having a tough time. Primark could’ve just launched a store with a few care packages on there. Why not bundle a few products together and you might get:
“The Essentials Package”. You know, essentials. T shirts, socks, underwear, that kind of thing.
“The WFH package”. Things that would help to take the edge off WFH. A smarter T-shirt or jumper, Jogging bottoms (Zoom calls anyone?!), a couple notepads, a few pens, sticky notes, a cheesy inspirational quote for my makeshift office wall.
“The Get Cosy Package”. Obvious, this one. Slippers, Dressing Gown, Nice Pyjamas, a smelly candle. Maybe throw in a blanket or a fluffy pillow or something.
“The Home School”. A bit like the WFH package but with parents who are currently pulling their hair out in mind. I dunno, colouring books? I’ve not been in Primark for a while.
10) Acquire someone!
I’m not going to pretend I know everything about big business, mergers, acquisitions, but I do know though that Primark are part of a group of companies worth about £15bn.
Rather than have the Primark brand sit there idly, why not acquire a few brands and have them sit under “The Primark” banner, and give them some items to flog on their already transacting websites.
Customers would feel looked after and I’ve zero doubt there would be plenty of companies who would appreciate the cash out!
Warehouses, stock, delivery systems are all ready to go. Why not?
Boohoo bought Debenhams. Topshop has been gobbled up by ASOS. It’s only a matter of time before the high street shake up gets Primark. EVOLVE OR DIE?
What do you think?
Look, I don’t have all the answers. There may be an incredibly good reason Primark has just sat on their hands that they don’t want to share with us.
I just think it’s a great shame. Someone, somewhere would’ve seen the lockdown as an opportunity for Primark and got creative with it. Instead, instead we get crickets. Sigh.
What do you think? What else could Primark have done to not lose a frankly ludicrous amount of money.
