Primark’s £7 fleece leggings are ‘perfect’ for keeping warm and looking stylish (Image: Getty)
If you’ve ever popped over to Ireland for a bit of retail therapy, you might have noticed goes by a different moniker. The fashion giant was born when entrepreneur Arthur Ryan planted its first roots on Mary Street in Dublin’s buzzing city centre back in 1969.
Since then, they’ve opened 450 stores worldwide and have a workforce exceeding 80,000 spread across 17 countries in Europe and America. Yet, the name change mystery has piqued the curiosity of global shoppers, prompting one perplexed Quora user to inquire: “Is Primark still called Penney’s in Ireland?”.
Delving into the company’s history via Primark’s official site, it’s detailed that the brand operated as Penney’s until 1973, at which point the Dublin-born visionary Arthur Ryan embarked on an expansion across mainland Britain, inaugurating a branch in Derby. The website declares: “Penneys is still a household name in Ireland, building its success by offering customers up-to-the-minute fashions at value-for-money prices.
“Barely a day passes when people don’t boast about where they got their shirt or trousers: ‘Penneys, just €11,’ they’ll say. Today, Penneys employs thousands of people at its Irish stores – and in the eyes of many Dubliners, Primark will always be Penneys. The Penney name could not travel to Britain as the American retailer, J. C. Penney, had the right to use the name in the region.
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“Primark was the name born from that and, since then, all stores opened around the world have adopted it.” It has been reported Ryan took inspiration from his love of the Italian language to name Primark, using the word ‘Prima’ meaning ‘first’, with the added suffex ‘mark’ as he was “striving to leave a mark on the fashion industry”.
However, this sparked another question among shoppers – “Is it pronounced PrEEmark or PrEYEmark? “. In response to this query, one user stated: “Primark themselves say that it’s PrEYEmark.”
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Another user chimed in: “I work at Primark. The first day there I asked the manager and he said it’s PrEYE-mark. Even the manager’s boss says the same. Everyone I know in or related to the shop calls it PrEYE-mark.”
Another user commented: “I only know English people who call it preyemark. Nearly everyone in Northern Ireland says preemark, or Penny’s if they are near the border.”
A fourth user shared: ” I say Pree-mark, and I’m fairly sure it’s because twenty years ago I had a German teacher who said “rima! a lot. Not that that makes it correct or there’s any connection.”
One more user added: “The second one – never heard anyone pronounce it the first way.”