Thursday 15 May 2008

Primark, cheap trash or meeting a market need?

Primark stores can now be found all over the country, famous for their cheap prices. Primark stocks clothes for not only men, women and children but also has a large beachwear section and stocks items for the home from bed sheets to candles. Primark has recently become much more prominent on the fashion map with many more upmarket designs being copied and sold for a tenth of the price.
Primark is accessible to everyone, whether you want a few simple t shirts or a going out dress. Perhaps the unfortunate element here is since anyone can afford it you're pretty much guaranteed to see someone else wearing your rara skirt or stripey t shirt. I personally love Primark for its floral skirts and cardigans that you can purchase for less than a tenner when Topshop has the same ones for £30, but I can't help thinking what Im saving in money I'm losing in quality. When I tried on a skirt in there the other day the clip at the top of the zip popped off before I'd even got into it but I bought it anyway as I thought for £6 I can't go wrong. Had I been in Topshop I would have left it there as I wouldnt have expected it to break.
Other hight street shops such as H&M and Zara don't always stock clothes that are entirely to my taste but I can see their appeal to other people that perhaps prefer more feminine clothes or like different colours to me,but in Primark I think its fair to say some of the clothes are just covered in bad, tacky designs which are made more appealing by the fact they are so cheap, which does occassionally make me think that all Primark does is stock is cheap trash which I buy into from time to time.
Whether Primark knowingly does this or not, it is a great shop for buying fancy dress outfits. I've gone out as a golfer, a cave person and a french person and the majority of the outfit has come from there.
With such cheap prices the makers of these clothes cannot be getting a great wage or working in the nicest of conditions, but if we, as buyers want some bargains I think its important to accept they aren't going to be made in working conditions comparable to that of the latest Gucci dress.
I think most people I know, particularly girls would not walk past a Primark without a look so I do think Primark is definitely filling a space in the market but you really do have to sift through some of the rubbish in there to find the good products.

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