'It's about staying relevant,' says Primark’s retail director for Iberia, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe and Benelux, Stephen Mullen Primark, the Irish fashion retail giant also known as Penneys, has invested over €30m in its European expansion this month as it prepares to enter its 17th market in Hungary. The fashion retailer, launched on Dublin’s Mary Street in 1969 by the late Arthur Ryan, has opened stores in Madrid, Spain, and Turin, Italy, this month and is about to open its first store in Budapest, Hungary. The three new stores, representing an investment of around €30m, will create around 600 new jobs at Primark, which has around 455 stores globally in markets including the UK and US.
In an exclusive interview, Stephen Mullen, Primark’s retail director for Iberia, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe, and Benelux, said the company had ambitions to open several stores across the continent this year. By the end of 2026, Primark aims to have 530 stores globally Further openings will take place in Italy, Czechia, Romania, Portugal, and Poland this year. By the end of 2026, Primark aims to have 530 stores globally.
Co Meath-born Mullen, who has worked at Primark for over 38 years and headed up the Spanish expansion at the direction of co-founder Ryan, said the European expansion was performing well. “There is much more to come from that market – I am very excited about it,” he said. Primark delivered a strong performance in the first half of its latest fina.
