Jessica discusses the challenges and opportunities of building brand awareness in a new country. She highlights the importance of storytelling and making emotional connections with customers.
Jessica Garbarino of Primark U.S. discusses the challenges and opportunities of building brand awareness in a new country. She highlights the importance of storytelling and making emotional connections with customers. She and Sid dive into in-store experience, local community design, and a measured growth strategy.
Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar. A podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance.
Primark is an international fashion retailer employing more than 80,000 colleagues across 17 countries in Europe and the US. It was founded in Ireland in 1969.
Guest Bio:
Jessica Garbarino leads internal and external communications for Primark in the United States. As a member of the US Leadership Team, Jess is part of the team growing the US business and taking Primark from an unknown brand to a mainstay for American shoppers across the country.
Jess has worked across iconic brands in the US to build brand heat and connect consumers with purpose and values. Most recently Jess worked on Reebok's social purpose team, driving storytelling around Reebok's pillar social purpose program BOKS, now Active Kids Active Minds.
Timestamps:
00:49 - About Primark
02:02 - Jessica’s journey
04:54 - Storytelling as a brand
08:00 - Introducing a new brand
11:08 - Do Americans shop differently?
17:35 - The myth of the mall
28:47 - How to focus on your staff
33:11 - Digital experiences in stores
40:20 - Where to find Jessica
41:55 - Sid’s takeaways
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[00:00:00] Sid: Hello everyone. Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar. I'm here today with Jessica Garbarino, head of communications for Primark US. Jessica, welcome to the show.
[00:00:10] Jessica: Thank you so much, Sid. I'm thrilled to be here.
[00:00:14] Sid: Thank you, we're excited to have you on. Jessica, before we get started and talk about you, I'd love to, you know, have you introduce Primark for those who may not be familiar with the brand. Could you share a little bit about, you know, the brand and what it stands for?
[00:00:29] Jessica: Yeah, absolutely. If you are sitting in the US right now, odds are, you probably haven't heard of us. We are fairly small compared to our presence back on the other side of the ocean, in the UK and where we were founded, which is in Dublin, Ireland. So we were actually founded in 1969, so a fairly old, long standing retailer.
[00:00:53] But we only entered the US in 2015. Uh, so relative to some of the other retailers in the US market that you may know and be very familiar with or grown up with, we're pretty new to this, to this country and this shopper.
[00:01:10] Sid: There you go. Personally, whenever we have traveled to the UK and Europe, uh. The Sheddy family has visited quite a few Primark stores, so we were a, we're a fan of the brand. Again, excited to have you on the show. Let's talk about you, Jessica. You've had a fascinating career across communications, purpose-led storytelling, and even entrepreneurship.
[00:01:32] Tell us a little bit more about your journey and and what led you to join Primark.
[00:01:38] Jessica: I've always sort of been in the, in the world of storytelling. I know that word gets, gets thrown around quite a bit particularly in the, the brand marketing communication space, but always really been in that world. I started out my career working in technology pr. I'm gonna be completely honest with you, said I was, chasing money, like I just needed to pay my rent. And technology seemed like the field where you could get paid the most in the world of pr. So that was kind of the first phase of of my career. I realized really quickly that cybersecurity wasn't something I was super passionate about. Um,
[00:02:21] Sid: Right.
[00:02:23] Jessica: So while I enjoyed the writing and the storytelling, it wasn't exactly the subject matter I was, I was most interested in. I really did consider going back to business school, kind of starting from scratch. Um, and my husband actually really pushed me and said. You know, if you're gonna, if you wanna go back to business school, just start a business. Like that's the best way to learn everything you're gonna learn, going and getting your MBA and hey, maybe you'll make some money, rather than spending money doing it.
[00:02:30] So I, I found a problem that I wanted to solve for me in my life. And I actually started a business, um, it was an apparel collection that I launched on Kickstarter. That sort of sent me down quite a crazy adventure in that I wasn't expecting to raise as much money as I did. And a few days went by and, you know, $80,000 in product sales later I was like, oh my God, I'm actually gonna have to do this. Um, so that's. Kind of what started my journey into entrepreneurship. Um, I started a company called Brunswick Park. It was a crazy adventure. I certainly learned everything that I wanted to learn from business school through actually running my own business.
[00:03:16] It's been so critical to what I do today in that when somebody from our supply chain team talks about being on a factory floor, like I've, I've been there, I've done that, I've been on the lines, I've seen how product is made, I know what import tax you have to deal with, and different codes by category of type of apparel, like things that a typical comms professional probably didn't know. So it's been extremely formative in the work that I do now. Ultimately, you know, starting a family and things like that, it was best for me to get back into more of a corporate world. And I ended up at Reebok, which was an incredible experience. Um, more of a heritage iconic American brand.
[00:03:56] Um, and I worked on the purpose team, so did a lot of storytelling around Reebok's values and what they cared about as. As a brand and a company. Um, And that's where Primark found me. And I think for them I was a nice combination of somebody who understood an iconic brand and, and how to tell that story to consumers.
[00:03:58] Um, but also who was just ready to roll up their sleeves and get down and dirty in the startup life. 'cause coming to the US was. Brand new for them. Um, so they really needed somebody who wasn't afraid to sort of jump without a safety net. Um, and I think that that kind of entrepreneurship background came in handy and still comes in handy every day in my work.
[00:03:58] Sid: I love it. Jessica, what is. What is the importance of, of storytelling or having the ability to, you know, take a zoom out, take a step back and actually build a narrative around, you know, what the brand stands for or your even function stand for. I'd love to, to hear your take because I, you know, personally, I think that most people don't know how to tell, how to tell their own story. Most functions don't know how to tell their story and the role that they play, and I don't know necessarily if every brand does a good job with with storytelling. So I would love to hear your take on that.
[00:04:30] Jessica: Yeah, I think shoppers today, particularly in the world of fashion and apparel, we have so many options. You log into Instagram and you're fed thousands of options of things you've said to a friend in passing you might be interested in, and it's a constant, constant sifting through of targeting, et cetera, coming at you of things you can buy or do, or experience. And if you don't do storytelling behind who you are as a company, you're just one of a product. There's no feeling, there's no emotional connection. You're not gonna get to that next level of brand advocate from a shopper. It would just be purely transactional. Um, and I think it's. The differentiator when it comes down to repeat shopping.
[00:05:21] Like, are they gonna come back and shop with you? It's the storytelling, it's the experience that they have. And for a new brand, particularly if they don't say something good to their friend about what we've done or what we stand for, what are we doing here? We're not gonna make it. So it's, it's really critical in creating those longstanding relationships, particularly when you're new.
[00:05:44] Sid: Is it easier to, build a story and a narrative around a brand that is new in a market? Or is it exponentially harder? Like what's your experience been? 'cause you've worked with Reebok and now with Primark, right?
[00:05:53] Jessica: Yeah, it's, it's a really great question. I think listen, each present their own unique challenges.
[00:06:01] Sid: Yeah.
[00:06:02] Jessica: You're working at a longstanding heritage brand, there's such a fixed mindset of who you are.
[00:06:09] Sid: Yeah.
[00:06:09] Jessica: That you're constantly, I I, if you're different from that, if you're different from that, then you have a challenge ahead of you. If, if you've stayed true to who you are and you've never innovated or evolved in any way. Okay, great. That's their perception and, and the, the job is pretty easy. Um, but if you have changed and evolved and innovated with culture and time and product innovations and things like that, you got a lot of work to, to change somebody's mind.
[00:06:36] That's really, really challenging. On the flip side, now working with a new brand, it is so hard to break through and get attention. So I think the biggest challenge that still faces Primark us right now is brand awareness. Once people come into our stores and experience Primark like you have on your trips abroad, they love us. They're coming back, but we just, we gotta get them there and make them aware of what we offer and to cut through in this, in this world. And the pace with which we consume content is extremely challenging. So, you know, it there, there's no one side that's better or worse. They just have different, different challenges.
[00:07:22] Sid: Primark is well established globally but still relatively new in the US like you mentioned. Has there been anything that has surprised you most in, in, you know, as you kind of built, you know, the brand and introduced the brand here in the US over the past few years?
[00:07:38]
[00:07:38] Jessica: I think one of the greatest joys for me, so I leave, um, I'm going to a store opening tomorrow. Flying out there, it'll open on Thursday and still one of my favorite things to do is see the expression on people's faces. And the first time they walk into a Primark and turn the price tag over, like there is no greater joy because they realize not only can I get this, I can actually get three other things as well.
[00:08:08] And, I myself, even when Primark reached out to me living in the state of Massachusetts that had a few stores, I didn't know how much value you can get by shopping at Primark. So when I get to pass that on, oh God, if it's the best feeling ever, um, and I still think, you know, we have 34 stores right now and it's still.
[00:08:08] It still gives me that same feeling, right? It's still just as exciting each new community we enter. It's that surprise of the, of the value. Um, as far as like my experience in, I was a new Primark shopper, so when I went back, like you have recently and traveled overseas when I first joined the business and got to visit a bunch of stores.
[00:08:30] I was experiencing that same shock and awe. So that was really surprising to me. And so as a person who tells stories for a brand, oh my God. I was like, I can sink my teeth into this because nobody in the US really grasps how different we are from everybody else. And how much. Value we can offer the market. It's a joy of working here is being able to deliver that and each store we open. I I, I love seeing that initial surprise on the customer's.
[00:09:04] Sid: I love it is, is there a certain target consumer that fits really well into, you know, the shopper that you expect to walk through your doors?
[00:09:15] Jessica: Yeah.
[00:09:15] Sid: and I guess what makes your, what makes Primark's model different from any other retailer like you mentioned?
[00:09:21] Jessica: Yeah. You know what's interesting is one of the challenges we faced early on, particularly from a communications perspective, is people kept thinking that we were an off price retailer. So I think American shoppers. We're only used to seeing our price point if they were in an off price retailer that was selling last season's product.
[00:09:45] So they just assumed that was what we had. We would have full broadcast segments run where people would name other brands that they could buy at a Primark, And we'd have to be like, no, no, no. It's Primark product, like there was just such confusion because the value is so much stronger than what they had seen at other companies. That sell their own product and don't sell last seasons. So It's been an interesting challenge because it's so different. The other thing is, is American shoppers are really trained for promotion.
[00:10:06] Sid: Oh.
[00:10:06] Jessica: Really, like they know that, you know, August, they're feeling those back to school deals and they're coming, right? They're getting ready. And we're always on value retail.
[00:10:18] Like when you walk in the door, you are gonna get that amazing price on leggings every single time. So understanding how to communicate to somebody who's almost trained to shop at just certain times, um, has been, has been. Different as well and a totally new thing to, to try to tackle.
[00:10:32] Sid: Especially for a global brand, you know, does, does the American shopper expect things to be, to look different or packaged differently? You know, apart from even, you know, the, the sales that are, you know, very much part of the DNA of American shopping, right? But Do American shoppers in general buy differently as well?
[00:10:50] Jessica: I think, yeah. That's part of the surprise when you enter a Primark, I think you're, if you've heard about the prices, if that's what brought you in, you're expecting more of like a warehouse vibe when you walk in like something a little more thrown together. You're not expecting this really curated shopping experience that's really well organized by department and family member and you know, license partner.
[00:11:21] You're not expecting to see a full stranger things build out that, you know, pulls in elements from the show. That's just not what you think of when you think of f lower prices. So, um, I think that's, you know, been part of the surprise for American shoppers and getting used to how our stores are set up, the size of our stores, um, the shopability of the store.
[00:11:33] I think another big difference is we're, we're a mall dominated, um, society. And that's not something you see everywhere in every market that we operate. You might have shoppers who don't shop as often, but when they come, they're doing a big old shop, they're bringing the whole family, they've got the minivan or the SUV and they're ready to go.
[00:11:54] So it's almost a, it's a bit of a different mindset because they have set out on excursion to shop rather than just like popping in on the way home from work. It's definitely a little bit different, from that perspective.
[00:12:07] Sid: Yeah. And, and you mentioned something really interesting about just how there's so much information today being thrown at you. And you know, to your point, we're not just competing for Sheriff Wallet, We're competing for Mindshare. Right. And as this individual who's not familiar with the brand is walking down the street. What makes them walk into your, your doors, right, walk into your store. And I'm curious, especially in the, In the formative years of building a brand, you know, what is the impact of the physical space on translating your brand into an experience in the store?
[00:12:46] Jessica: Yeah, I mean, we are brick and mortar first retailer. Our stores are everything to us. We are so laser focused on that customer experience and journey when they are in our stores. And yes, we have different levers that we pulled to drive them into stores, but once they are there, they have to have the experience that we want them to have.
[00:13:09] They have to feel "that's so Primark" when they walk in or we haven't done our job. So, you know, one other side of the work I do, I feel like a lot of what I do is seen externally and, et cetera. But a huge part of what our we do here is the internal communications and making sure that our colleagues in store, they're feeling the brand.
[00:13:33] They're also new to Primark. Right? We, we, we entered Texas. No one knew who we were. So when you're hiring. They're new to the brand as well, So we need to make sure we do an amazing job articulating what our brand is all about. What are our values? What are our standards? How do we deal with customers? How do we talk to them about our products?
[00:13:48] What's new and exciting? What's new and exciting? We have to be communicating regularly with our colleagues in store to make sure that they're feeling that feeling the same way. We want our customers to feel that feeling. The other thing that we do that I think is really, really cool the. Our retail teams in store are very entrepreneurial.
[00:13:49] So just to bring it back to that kind of entrepreneurial spirit. But they're very much, they own their business and they know their customer way better than, than I do sitting here in Boston. So yes, we have a global range of product that they pull from. But if they know, you know, my shopper loves joggers, they're more of a leisure.
[00:13:49] They, they. They can pull what they need to pull to make sure that they're serving their local community in the right way. So when you think about creating a store experience that really, really resonates with people, it's also about having the right products that fit that, that community and what they're looking for. So that's another thing that you know, I love about working for this brand, is it is all about the stores and those teams and supporting them.
[00:14:16] Sid: I love it. Yeah. I mean the entire North Star of our show is to elevate the conversation around brick and mortar. Right. And, and I love everything you're saying because many a times you see that the teams that, that are working behind the scenes in an operations and construction and facilities to actually make the physical space represent the brand and to deliver on the brand promise sometimes are not always at the table.
[00:14:41] And they're not always understood in terms of the impact that they have on the brand and on the experience customers have and the shoppers have when they're in the store. It's kind of seen as a cost center. And so the entire purpose of our show is to elevate the conversation and, and tell the story of why this function And this industry exists and the impact it has on. The brands that we all love and care about. And so everything you're saying 100%, I think will resonate with the audience. Let's talk about the environment that you are operating in, right? You are in malls and you know, there's been this lazy narrative that malls are declining and, and, you know, physical brick and mortar is on the decline or is dead.
[00:15:14] It feels very lazy and it's not true. Uh, because you know, Every single guest who comes in here, whether they have a, um, you know, brick and mortar only strategy or a, a strategy where they have e-commerce and brick and mortar omnichannel experience, everyone talks about how there's this massive convergence, in terms of all the different experiences and all those experiences have to be, you know, elevated because customer expectations are, have never been higher.
[00:15:41] What's your perspective on just that narrative and, you know, how easy is it to actually find great spaces to go, you know, have your stores in, especially during the growth stages?
[00:15:53] Jessica: Listen, lazy is a great word because I think if anybody got up off their couch and took a ride to their local mall, struggled to find a parking space because we all do they would realize that the mall is certainly not dead. Now listen, are some malls dead? Yes, there's plenty of malls that didn't keep up with what American shoppers are looking for,
[00:16:18] Sid: right.
[00:16:19] Jessica: But I mean, if you walk into American Dream, it is like. It's an experience. I mean, that, it's incredible. I have kids, they could be entertained all day there. And I think one of the really amazing things about our, our US team here is, well, first of all, our entire leadership team, no matter what role we sit in, we all started on sales floors.
[00:16:42] So I think that's pretty unique and cool and gives us a unique perspective and a unique ability to really serve as support for retail. Our central functions teams are here to support our retail teams, and so having that perspective of I know what it's like to deal with a tough customer. I've been there, and so to be able to, to kind of understand that and fully get it, I think is really important.
[00:17:05] The other thing is we spend a ton of time. In malls. So whenever a reporter comes to me and says, Hey, I'm working on a story about the decline in X, Y, and Z mall or foot traffic. It's like, have you been here?
[00:17:20] Sid: Right.
[00:17:21] Jessica: A coffee at the food court 'cause it's really hard to get a seat. I definitely would challenge that narrative and say there are some, some landlords and mall owners who are doing an exceptional job of delivering what customers want right now and how they wanna spend their, their day. People wanna be together. I think one of the coolest things that I see in Primark that I think makes us unique is there's a lot of family shopping. It's like their family out together, having a nice day. Um, and that's, that's what makes the experience so wonderful for them is when they come into Primark, everyone's psyched. 'Cause there's something for everybody. Um, I don't think in-person shopping is going anywhere. And of course there will always be different levels of where people spend their money, but I don't think the joy of going in and having fun with your friends or your family, trying things on, et cetera. I don't think that's gonna, that's gonna go anywhere.
[00:18:18] Sid: I agree a hundred percent. There is a supply demand challenge in the industry today, right? I mean, there are fewer really attractive spaces, and there's more demand, right? There's a lot more competition. Would you agree with that?
[00:18:32] Jessica: What we're seeing I mean, listen, we are brick and mortar first, so our stores are pretty big. You know, you're looking at 30, 35,000 square foot stores. So we aren't looking for spaces that are just a brand touch point. I've seen a lot of brands go in that direction where they're creating a brand touch point, and that's their physical space, and that's wonderful.
[00:18:53] It's a place for them to curate some products, do some storytelling, but they're ultimately driving e-com. That's not us. So those spaces aren't attractive to us. We are looking for the larger space, um, where we can have all of our departments represented, um, and really showcase the full breadth of what primer has to offer.
[00:19:12] That being said, we would never just sign a lease because we need more stores. You know, that's just not our strategy. And it might be why we're at 34 stores, you know, and we've been here for 10 years, is that we pick the spaces that are right for, for Primark. Um, and it's, it's worked out well.
[00:19:33] Sid: If I am a global shopper and I travel a lot, and I walk into a location in the uk, which by the way, this recently happened, you know, like, like I was mentioning earlier, um, but But if I walk into a prime market in the US, Is the, does the brand feel the same? Has your physical design and store concepts and the visual merchandising and how you, you know display your, your merchandise. Is that the same in the US or have you found that you've, you've had to kind of localize even the physical design and the displays to the local shopper?
[00:20:01] Jessica: No, I would say I think we're, we're bottling up the magic, right? I, there are definitely variations. You're not gonna see a massive Buffalo Bills display if you walked into a store on Oxford Street, I don't think anyway, right. But when you come to our Buffalo store, you're certainly gonna see that.
[00:20:21] So there's definitely some localizations to the customer that's, that's happening, um, to make sure that we're serving them with the product that we think will be of most interest. Which, by the way, of course, the Buffalo Bills stuff is insane in Buffalo. So there's definitely local spins on things, but at our core, you know, Primark is an iconic brand that makes people feel welcome and included. And there's something for everybody at our stores, and I don't think we wanna get far away from that. There's, you know, since 1969, it's, it's been a successful formula. So sure you might see some variations, um, to make sure that the American shoppers, um, get the same magic, but, At our core, our brand values are, are definitely the same 100%. I mean, one, one example of a variation I can give you is that if you walked into a store in the UK, you might see a cafe or a nail bar, um, or some sort of enhanced experience other than just, you know, traditional shopping for fashion. Um, but when you're in a mall environment and there's already a nail salon. It doesn't really make sense to execute in that way here in the US. So there are definitely changes like that, that are just sensical, that either we made those decisions upfront or it's something we learned over time. Okay. The American shopper doesn't need. To get their coffee in our store because you know, there's a Starbucks right next to it or whatever it may be.
[00:21:45] So there's definitely variations in some ways, and we definitely tailor, um, product where appropriate that that local sports analogy is a huge one. We wanna make sure people can get their local gear in our stores. I think we do have a, a formula that works.
[00:22:01] Sid: Got it. And your, you know, lar relatively larger format, mall based Do you choose cities and, and you know, tier one, tier two cities. And that's your strategy right now? Or are you finding that you are, you know, you are going to where the great places are, irrespective of urban or suburbs and and so on. What's your strategy been and what's been successful so far?
[00:22:19] Jessica: Yeah, we really look for high foot traffic areas. This year in 2026, we will open our, um, first store in Manhattan, which we are so excited about. It's a flagship store. It's gonna be a huge moment for our brand. But we're right in Harold Square. We're right where you would commute into the city.
[00:22:41] Everybody's coming in that way. They're leaving that way. You know, it's, it's a great area for us to be because that's where the foot traffic is. Um, and yes, it is iconic. Uh, it's a very cool retail corridor to be a part of, but ultimately it's about making sure that people are walking by our brand and saying.
[00:23:04] Ooh, what's that? Ooh, look at that price point in the window. I wanna go there and check that out. Um, and it's a, it's a commuter audience. They're coming in on the train. So, um, so yeah, so it is, it is about going where the foot traffic is, um, and putting ourselves in the best position to build brand awareness and, and get some regular customers who are coming back and shopping with us week over week.
[00:23:29] Sid: Yeah. Now, Jessica, you mentioned earlier that, you know, the, the power of storytelling and kind of also training your own associates and folks in the store. Are you responsible for also telling the story internally at the corporate office, folks that have maybe spent their entire life in retail, but need to understand the brand and the personality of the brand and what your mission and North Star is. Do you spend time internally as well, kind of spreading the message and, and being, being the evangelist?
[00:24:03] Jessica: Yeah, I actually would prioritize that. This is kind of my number one goal and job within Primark us. The external stuff is obviously incredibly important, but if our colleagues. Feeling the magic of the Primark brand that I haven't done my job at all. They are the ones on the ground dealing with customers day in and day out.
[00:24:26] So, um, they need to know. Why we're releasing certain collections or why we've decided to put a wheelchair mannequin in some of our stores. They need to know the reasons behind why we're doing the things that we're doing and why they're important to us as a brand so that they can feel like they're included.
[00:24:49] They also need to be able to communicate in a two way. From, they're, they're on the ground with the customers every day. I need to be able to hear from them as well, what's working, what's not working? What's resonating? What do you think could be done better? So that internal line of communication is so critical to us being a successful retailer, um, is making sure that our stores and our team in the corporate office are in constant communication. And again, just spending time in the stores is a huge part of that as well.
[00:25:21] Sid: Right. And especially, you know, as you're building your, your brand, and each of the functions are figuring out like what is their north star? It has to tie so much into what is the brand's North Star, right? And what, what kind of experience do you want the consumer to have when they walk into your doors?
[00:25:30] I presume you don't want the consumer walking in and, and seeing a dirty door or seeing stained tiles, and those might seem small. You know, irrelevant. But actually When you're a consumer and you walk into a brand, into a location, in that moment, that facade, that entrance, that lobby, that's the brand right there.
[00:25:41] The teams that support it are essentially either adding to the experience or taking away from it. Right? So for the folks in our audience, like, you know, how do they, you know. Kind of align what they do every day to someone in a leadership role like you and say, this is what we do and why we do it versus saying, we break, we fix broken things. And that's the job, right? That's not really the job. Right.
[00:26:11] Jessica: no, that's, it's, that's such a great question, Sid. I really appreciate it because, where I sit in the US I sit with a lot of construction and design teams here, store design teams. We're, we're small, so I get to see everything that they're doing. If you're at a bigger company, you might not get that. I, I fully understand to those people.
[00:26:32] I'd say, listen, if a customer walks in and immediately feels anxious about a store. Like this isn't set up well. Like it's too, I can't get my stroller through. Uh, the fitting room's not big enough. Uh, whatever it may be. I can't see the products 'cause the lighting is terrible. That's it. They're not coming back. I don't have a chance to reclaim that, that customer, it is the first touch point. It is their first experience. If that experience isn't great, if it doesn't emulate what we're trying to say, we are as a brand. I mean, you're, you're, you're talking the talk without walking the walk.
[00:27:11] The stores are the walking and I can't talk unless the stores are walking, so it's so, so critical and, you know, I've had that experience myself as a customer. When you walk in, you sort of like, okay. I'm counting down the seconds till I get outta here. The music's too loud. This is, this is not great. Um, and I've also had the experience of, of seeing new customers come into our store and sort of breathe like, okay,
[00:27:35] Sid: Yeah.
[00:27:36] Jessica: Plenty of room to walk around. I can, I can start in this direction. The lighting's great. My kids are happy. All of those things seem so small and they are not. They're everything. So, um, yeah, I think it's, it's, It's a really important point you make and I think sometimes you sort of fall into, that's the expectation, so we don't have to call it out, but really it should be called out every single time. The amount of thought that goes into it, for sure.
[00:27:54] Sid: That's right. And you know, and then the other side of that is, you know, like you mentioned, when when somebody walks in, the power of a smile, right? Like this, having someone, an associate give you a smile that says, you are welcome. That is so powerful, right? And that person. Has to feel comfortable in that space to feel like they're having a good day and they actually really wanna be there and they're welcoming the shopper in.
[00:28:09] And of course, you know, in addition to all of that, there's, I, I'd love to hear your, your thoughts on the macro trend of, is it easy to have and hire people in the store who wanna be there? Right? So like, these are so intertwined. So I'd love to hear your take on just. Employee experience, you know, and, and how that's looked at within Primark.
[00:28:18] Uh, and then how, you know, how easy or difficult is it right now to get talent, you know, and, and, you know, have that human capital, um, within your stores to, you know, take care of your customers.
[00:28:18] Jessica: Yeah, no, it's, I mean, it's one of the most important questions, right? Our, you know, we are a people first company and we're also a store first. So that means our retail colleagues are the most important people that that work at Primark. What I love about Primark is the store manager really feels like they're running their own business because they are.
[00:28:42] There is so much passion for what goes on in their local store. Um, and that trickles down to, you know, part-time hourly colleagues. So all the way from management all the way down, um, to somebody who's part-time. One of, one of the, my favorite stories is our US president here. He actually started as a part-time, weekend shift, um, colleague at a store, in Newcastle, in the uk. Um, and he's just worked his way up. So, you know, one of the things we really, really push here at Primark is, is the growth opportunity. And not to think about retail as a stopover job or a temporary job or a side hustle. I'm sure it's those things for some people, and that's great.
[00:29:14] But what we really, really want our colleagues to understand is there are no limits to your growth. Doesn't matter where you start. And one of the cool things about Primark US is you could actually move around quite a bit if you, if you wanna see this country and you think about the amount of stores that we're gonna open, um, there's so much opportunity to grow, not just in your career, but as a person, um, and see new cities and, you know, move up as you do that.
[00:29:22] I really think one of the biggest things I, you know, I was speaking with a group of students yesterday and I said like, I, I know maybe that's not your end goal, but take that job. Take that job. You have no idea where it could take you. You have no idea where it could take you. Um, and again, I think, you know, we don't just talk the talk on that, all of us started on the store floor. So we walk the walk and I think the reason our colleagues stay with us is they see like. I can do that, I can be that, I can be that pretty quickly if I work really hard. It's been a great place to work in that regard.
[00:29:55] Sid: Beautiful. I love it. Jessica, you know, as you look at the macro environment that we are in right now. Is there anything that you are looking at and you're saying this is interesting, like this, this is the new way either shoppers are gonna buy merchandise in the stores, or this is the new economy. Or maybe like, this feels like a fad and this is gonna go away.
[00:30:16] Jessica: Yeah. Listen, I think as a new brand, we have really, um, honed our influencer strategy because you really need somebody that customers trust to when you're brand new. Right. They wanna see that the quality is what we say it is because somebody they follow tried our lounge wear and they're obsessed and they can't get enough and they need it in every color.
[00:30:45] So that's been really important to us. The other thing I would say, particularly in my world, is local media. I feel like, yeah, everybody wants the big flashy headline, but honestly. Like the communities that people live in and want to get out and have experiences in. Those are the people that we need talking about us and coming and experiencing Primark.
[00:31:10] I mean, one of the things that's really cool about our store openings where we do get a good amount of press is. Our president, our VP of retail, they are there. They will, it doesn't matter if you're from Patch a smaller, you know, more local type publication, or you're from the largest newspaper in the region, they will spend the time and meet with everybody and talk them through who we are and what they're about.
[00:31:33] It's just so critical. We're new, we're a new, new kid on the block and we know it, and I think it's really important to be humble in that way and make sure that you show up in a really ex. Blaming who you are. And I don't think that's a fad. I think people probably think, oh my gosh, local news. Why do you even care? We care very much. It's so important. These are the people that people grew up watching. We want them to come and experience our brand. Um, so, you know, no publication is too small for us. We, we really wanna welcome everybody in. And it's not about that, you know, big flashy moment. It's about getting to know people for real.
[00:32:13] Sid: Love it. So social clearly is a strategy for you. What about like, digital experiences within the stores? There's a lot of that these days, you know, this whole convergence of physical and digital as they call it, like phygital, right? Have you explored that? Like do you see that something as something that is working within your locations? Especially now as new technologies are making their way into the physical built environment. that something that you see or think that we can expect to see in a Primark store in the future?
[00:32:47] Jessica: Yeah. One of the coolest things I think we have right now on our website that's just purely convenient and functional is the stock checker feature. You, you, you are asking a lot of people to get up off their couch and go shopping. So the fact that they could know that that blazer that they saw on their favorite influencer is in stock in their store that's two miles from their house.
[00:33:11] Hugely critical. It's not that we're going after big flashy new innovations when it comes to technology. It's just about improving the shopping experience and kind of taking out obstacles or inconveniences that might be in our shopper's way or our colleagues' way, and making sure that it's easy for them to deliver an incredible experience because, you know, they don't have to worry about.
[00:33:35] Technology failing them in some way. So I do think that we've really made an effort to use digital to enhance what's happening, but not take away from what's happening on the shop floor.
[00:33:47] Sid: Yeah, that's fascinating because, you know, I think one of the challenges that every brand's gonna face is, you know, ultimately, like how do you keep the, the human aspect of the relationship with the shopper, right? And so when the shopper comes in, you really want your associates to engage with them. And, and how do you essentially use these digital experiences?
[00:34:08] To still bring them into the store and then help them get to what they're looking for versus pushing them away and saying, no, this is, you know, go to the kiosk first. Or, you know, use this technology first, then come to us if you need anything. Right. I mean, there's it, it can be done. Right. But it can also be done horribly wrong. Right.
[00:34:18] Jessica: Yeah. Yeah. No, I think we definitely try to make sure that our colleagues feel they are armed with everything they need to serve the customer in the best way possible. And one of the things I, I really love is during the holiday season, we all get out and work shifts in stores and it's great for, for all of us to get that experience and see.
[00:34:42] What, what, what troubles am I having during, during a shift? What, what is the colleague perspective of what's easy and what's not? What systems could be improved? What are some of the challenges we face with customers or what are some of the amazing things that we should, we did in this store, but we should do in every store?
[00:34:52] It really is kind of ingrained in us as colleagues to, to make sure that we're, always looking at the store experience and finding ways to improve it, whether it be through technology or or something else.
[00:35:02] Sid: Yeah. As, as Primark continues to expand in the US, what do customers have to look forward to? Like, where do we see you? Are you gonna look at the entire country and you're gonna go to the, the spaces that have, um, just a lot of demand and, you know, a lot of white space when it comes to the brands that are serving the community? Is there a different strategy that, that you can share with us? Right.
[00:35:14] Jessica: It's a huge growth year for us. Um, but if you think about it, we have been pretty slow and measured about where we're going and what we're doing and how we're showing up, and so I think we'll continue to hone the shopping experience to make sure that we are tailoring it to the US shopper as best as we can. So as far as things that they can look, look forward to, you know, obviously we're gonna have more locations coming, um, which will hopefully make it more convenient for people to, to get to us and, and, and reach us. Um, and there's also a lot of excitement happening in the product world. You know, one of the things we take a lot of pride in is that.
[00:35:54] Shoppers can find the brands that they love to represent, whether it be N-F-L-N-B-A, Disney, Netflix there's more excitement definitely coming in that world. Um, so, you know, there's lots to look forward to both on the fashion and trend side of things. Um, but also in, in the license space where, you know, you can get your kid that jersey that they've been.
[00:36:20] Begging for that might be over a hundred dollars somewhere else and get it at a really affordable price in a prime mark. So, um, there's definitely more excitement coming in that.
[00:36:31] Sid: I love it. So you are being measured in your growth. You wanna do it right. But is there a number or a target that you've set and you can share internally or externally that you say in the next five years, like where our Northstar is to grow towards a certain number? Is that a target or is it No, we'll see where the opportunities are and will grow, um, in the most responsible way possible that can allow us to consistently offer great experiences to our, our, our shoppers.
[00:36:59] Jessica: Yeah, it's exactly that said, I mean, listen, like I said earlier, you know, we're definitely in expansion mode here in the US market, but we wouldn't just. You could just sign leases everywhere. There's availability and show up and open up. And that's a strategy that, that some retailers have have followed.
[00:37:19] But we're really being smart about the locations we open and making sure that we're able to serve that community with what that community wants. Um, so it probably has, um, you know, been a more. Is this, I guess a slower roll. I don't even wanna say slower rollout. I mean, but compared to some others, possibly slower, but just really measured and strategic about what works and what doesn't and what types of malls that we do well in and where we wanna see our brand, um, in the future.
[00:37:55] So, you know, no hard number or anything like that. Just being really smart about getting ourselves in front of more Americans.
[00:38:03] Sid: Love it. Smart and intentional. That says a lot. Um, for leaders in our audience who are in these functions that, you know, very much related to the brick and mortar environment, but are not necessarily, you know, doing a nice job with the PR around the industry about, you know, around the impact that these functions have within their brands and as a whole.
[00:38:29] What advice would you give folks in terms of how they should talk about what they do and the impact it has on the brand?
[00:38:37] Jessica: We are living in a world where you can create content really, really efficiently and at a low cost. So I think really telling your own story is probably easier than it's ever been. And we've seen that particularly from an internal communications perspective. We call it cheap and cheerful productions here, where we're documenting everything and serving it up to our colleagues to make sure that nobody misses out on anything that's going on within the business that they want to hear and know about. I think that that that is so valuable. Documenting the amount of work and thought that goes into the creation of these spaces, I think is a wonderful sales tool. Um, and making sure that you're, you're pulling in the brand values that you know that the rest of your team really wants to get out there when you're doing that.
[00:39:30] So listen, I think, you know, not to be like, oh, everybody should be content creators, but in a almost a B2B way, it's super valuable to be able to tell your story,
[00:39:43] Sid: Couldn't agree more. Jessica, this has been a fascinating conversation. I really appreciate you, being here. For folks in our audience who might, who might wanna look up, Primark or, or look you up, um, where can they find you?
[00:39:56] Jessica: Primark.com. So for all Primark us, you can see, um, all of our current locations and locations that are coming soon, of which there are a lot, which is really exciting. So be sure to check that out. Um, you can also browse the product catalog and see, get a taste for what we have and all of our different departments across men's, women's, and kids.
[00:40:18] And then just me personally, obviously I'm on LinkedIn. Um, I'm a communications person. If I wasn't on there, I wouldn't be doing my job right. So, um, it's just Jessica Garino on LinkedIn.
[00:40:28] Sid: Love it. Well, thanks again, Jessica. I really appreciate you being here. And for all those in our audience, thank you for joining us, and we'll see you on the next episode of Elevating Brick and Mortar.
[00:40:40] music break
[00:40:41] well, that was Jessica Garbarino from Primark US. What I loved about today's conversation is how clearly Primark understands the power of physical retail, not just as a channel but as an experience from thoughtful store design to storytelling, to creating energy and accessibility in every market, Jessica showed us how space, brand and customer connection come together to build brand awareness and loyalty. It's exciting to see a global brand invest in getting the in-store experience right.
[00:41:16] With that, I'm your host, Sid Shetty, and I'll see you on the next episode of Elevating Brick and Mortar.