• by Sarah Mahoney , 10 hours ago

With its first U.S. flagship opening this week — the same week as the glittery Met Gala — Primark intends to be one of New York's most talked-about newcomers. The value retailer, well aware that there's no do-overs on 34th Street, is hijacking one of the fashion calendar's biggest moments, with a marketing splash telling shoppers that New York's real fashion moment will be Friday's grand opening, not Monday's red carpet. Rene Federico, Primark's head of U.S. marketing, talks to Marketing Daily about hijacking a fashion moment, what it's learned in its first 39 U.S. stores, and why a rough economy is actually the brand's moment.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marketing Daily: The New York flagship opens Friday. You've described the marketing this week as trying to "paint the town Primark blue." What does that look like on the ground?

Rene Federico: We lit the Empire State Building Primark blue. We have large-scale media takeovers in Herald Square, the Penn district, and Times Square, which is a first for us as a brand. We've got mobile billboards. And then we wanted to, in our own Primark wink-wink kind of way, remind everyone that the real fashion moment this week is Friday, not Monday.

Marketing Daily: That's a pretty direct poke at the Met Gala.

Federico: It's fashion week in New York in the most intense way. We just felt like — why not join the conversation? The message on our out-of-home is: The real fashion moment isn't May 4th, it's May 8th. It felt true to who we are.

Marketing Daily: What else is happening before the grand opening?

Federico: Wednesday, we have a flagship launch event — celebrities, influencers, a real moment to kick off the week with some of the biggest style names in the city. And then Friday is a full block party at Herald Square Park. Food, coffee, pup cups, photo moments, giveaways, a DJ in the store. We've really tried to make it feel like a New York City block party — for the whole neighborhood, not just shoppers. We've also got a collaboration with designer Maryam Nassirzadeh to create a limited offer bag in honor of Primark's entry to the city.

Marketing Daily: This makes the 40th U.S. store — explain why only this one is considered a flagship?

Federico: It's the biggest, but of course, size isn't what makes a flagship. It's the market, the influence that market carries, and what we've been able to do differently inside the store. The architecture of the building, the location on 34th Street, gave us room to think differently about the shopping journey. The women's fashion presentation is more elevated. We have a really cool branded license section. It's not that the other stores aren't exceptional — they are. But this one gave us a bigger canvas.

Marketing Daily: Some brands would have said Manhattan should have been store one. Why now?

Federico: Like anything in real estate, it comes down to the right opportunity at the right time under the right circumstances. But honestly, we've had the chance to learn the U.S. consumer across 39 stores before walking into the most unforgiving retail market in the world. There's no hiding on 34th Street. We can execute this opening with a lot of confidence. It's like, "Let's go!"

Marketing Daily: The economy is rough right now, and Primark — if it is known at all to U.S. consumers — is known for extreme affordability. Does that change your value message?

Federico: It doesn't change the message — it contextualizes it. Our first price is the right price, always. What I think happens a lot in this market is consumers get asked to compromise: Buy last season's styles, wait for an arbitrary discount cycle, sacrifice quality. We're really committed to the idea that you shouldn't have to choose. You can outfit the whole family for under $50 and not feel like you settled.

Marketing Daily: What would be an absolute win for you by end of this week?

Federico: If a consumer walks out of the store and says, "I can't believe I got all this at this price," that's it. That's the whole thing. Getting people excited about fashion isn't hard. People love to express themselves, love to find things they look great in. The differentiator is doing all of that at a price that doesn't make them flinch.