Shelley E. Kohan (00:01.858)
Hi everybody and thanks for joining our weekly podcast. I’m Shelley Cohen and I’m very thrilled to welcome Renee Federico who is Primark’s US Head of Marketing. Welcome.

Rene Federico (00:14.283)
Thanks Shelly, super happy to be here.

Shelley E. Kohan (00:17.762)
So maybe we should start by telling our listeners, some may not be familiar with the Primark brand. Impossible to imagine, but just tell us a little bit about the brand ethos, the unique value proposition, and maybe what sets Primark’s model apart from other brands in the affordable fashion space.

Rene Federico (00:37.771)
Sure, so Primark is an Irish fashion brand and retailer that is beloved throughout Europe and the UK that came to the US and started operating stores here roughly 15 years ago. And the, sorry, 10 years ago in 2015. essentially,

Primark is a retailer that is able to bring sort of a unique triad to our customer base, which is grounded in great style, fashion, and trend.

price leadership and affordability and quality garments and

know, items that we can stand behind in terms of having great quality, durability, and things like that. So that’s our sort of like value proposition. That’s a little bit of our background. As we’ve operated here in the US, as I said, for the last 10 years, we’ve had a keen eye towards really understanding what markets and what customer bases we should be getting after. And so we’ve been very deliberate in our store growth strategy as it relates to that.

Ultimately, we’re a retailer for everyone. We’re style-led. We can offer the best price, the latest trends, with a great eye towards affordability and quality. And we’re really excited to be on a great trajectory for growth here in the US. Our hope is, and part of what my job is, is that everyone will know and love Primark.

Rene Federico (02:22.983)
in the US, in the markets that we operate, and that in the markets where we don’t operate, everyone will be asking for one of our stores to come there.

Shelley E. Kohan (02:30.445)
I love that. So here’s a fun fact you probably don’t know about me but one of the fun things I do on the side is I do NRF store tours and the Primark in American Dream when it first opened I had a preview into that store and it was very well all the tours that went through there had to go to Primark so that should make you feel good about that.

Rene Federico (02:42.654)
nice.

Rene Federico (02:56.617)
Yeah, that’s great. mean, yeah, we love being the reference standard in the marketplace. And I think one of the things that makes us such a desirable retailer or a desirable place to come for our consumers is sort of that excellence that we drive in our retail operations in our store. So yeah, we love our teammates at American Dream. They do a great job. So we’re glad you got a chance to tour it.

Shelley E. Kohan (03:21.79)
yeah, and so now you have a very, very ambitious goal, I believe, of opening up 60 stores in the U.S., is that correct?

Rene Federico (03:29.816)
Well, think, you know, we’re, yes, we’re on a goal to look at

what markets are right for us to operate in and where can we best serve our consumers through how we operate and run our retail. Numbers aside, I think it’s our goal to look at the marketplace, look at the opportunity, make sure that we can bring those unique experiences to consumers and make sure that we can be a part of those communities in the markets that we operate in. So we have several leases signed that we’re really excited about.

Not that anyone really outpaces another, but we did sign a lease to open a store in Herald Square in Manhattan. So we’re really, yeah, yes. Yeah, yeah, we’re looking to spring of 26 for that. So, you know, know, Shelley, as being in New York, when you’re in Manhattan on such an iconic retail street like.

Shelley E. Kohan (04:16.554)
Exciting! my gosh, that’s so exciting. When’s that happening? That’s exciting.

Shelley E. Kohan (04:24.01)
Awesome.

Rene Federico (04:35.368)
34th Street and Herald Square. It is a signal to customers that you matter in the space of retail and style and fashion. So we’re really looking forward to energizing the city around the opening of that store.

Shelley E. Kohan (04:51.736)
That’s very exciting. can’t wait. I’m based in New York, so can’t wait to head down there and check it out. Yeah. So I mean, the US is very competitive. You know this. You have a lot of experience here in the US. I know we’re going to talk about that towards the end of our podcast. But the US market for fashion apparel is so competitive. How are you approaching this? How are you approaching the marketplace? What’s the strategy there?

Rene Federico (04:56.232)
Yeah, see you there. Yeah, for sure.

Rene Federico (05:16.614)
Well, mean, as I said, know, price leadership is part of our business model. But we also know that people don’t shop business models, they shop at stores, right? And so how we operate our retail, you know, the excellence with which we operate our retail is a core tenet of how we run the business in the US.

Shelley E. Kohan (05:28.014)
That’s right.

Rene Federico (05:42.175)
You know, it is competitive. think as I said, you know, at the start of our conversation, our ability to deliver on price, style and trend and affordability without making consumers have to compromise in terms of what they want or how they get it, I think uniquely positions us to compete well.

in that market. So, you know, we’re not asking them to go and buy last season styles at a discount. We’re not waiting for that. We’re not asking them to wait for some discount cycle to come through before they can, you know, shop for an occasion or shop for things that they need or shop for basics. We’re not asking them to compromise on quality.

in order to be able to find all the perfect items. mean, honestly, we’re inviting them to participate in the joy of shopping with us. We’re inviting them to participate in being able to make all the style choices and all the basics choices that they want without having to compromise what they get. So.

And our ability to kind of find markets to serve those consumers, as I said before, is something we’re working really hard on. And we’re really excited about the locations that we have coming up that we’ve signed on to operate stores in.

Shelley E. Kohan (07:07.117)
That’s great. Well, I have to ask you, I mean, right now, the geopolitical, macro-environmental stuff that’s happening in the U.S. and the world and the whole tariff situation, like, how are you navigating through all this, especially in the U.S. market?

Rene Federico (07:23.37)
I mean, I think all of these things are factors that affect our business. think we have people hard at work looking at those things and making sure that we can deal with them and be able to continue to operate and serve our consumers what they’ll come to our stores and what they expect to have. that is…

transparent promise to offer them the best price. That is an opportunity to be able to shop awesome collections, shop for any occasion, shop for their home family, treat themselves. I think a lot of people often say, well, I’ve got to go shopping. I’ve got to get all this stuff for other people. One of the most joyful things about shopping, in my opinion, is really treating yourself in the moment. I think I just earned myself something here.

So yeah, you know, as all those things unfold, we have teams hard at work understanding what the impact on our business will be and, you know, managing that effectively. Really, our goal is making sure that we’re getting our message out in front of customers and building awareness for our brand. And so that they understand what our proposition is. And we definitely want them to choose us as an option when they’re shopping.

Shelley E. Kohan (08:44.437)
So Renee, I have to go back to something you said. So you know what Primark’s really good at? Discovery. So you said exactly what’s in the consumer mind. I have to go get children’s clothes, or I have to go get something. So they go need base. But once they get there, and I found this when I shop in Primark, is, my god, can’t believe this is here. I can’t believe that’s here. And that element of surprise and discovery, I think, is fantastic, especially in today’s retail environment.

Rene Federico (09:14.792)
Yeah, absolutely. mean, I think, you know, we work really hard on projecting a point of view to consumers through our trend room and the way that we present style and our different collections, whether they be licensed collections or, you know, just kind of owning a season if it’s like, you know, summertime or springtime, our travel section, things like that. So I agree with you. know, I showed when I was first kind of coming over to Primark, I went out and as one does, right, you know, having been

my whole career in and around brand marketing and retail, you go to the store. If you want to know what a store stands for, if you want to get a feel for their values, their attitude, their look and feel, right?

if you want to kind of personify all that and kind of get the vibe, you go to the store. It is really a manifestation of brand values and manifestation of brand voice. So I went out, I went to the stores and there was, you know, sort of this, there’s kind of like this legacy around everyone that walks into a Primark that hasn’t been in one before.

the first word out of their mouth is wow. And I was like, okay, sure. That’s a great tale to tell. honestly, went to my first store, walked in and the first thing audibly out of my mouth was wow. And I think that’s what we’re trying to help deliver to our customers, which is there could be one reason that brings you to the store, but we’ll…

give you a whole bunch of to stay and a whole bunch more reasons to come back.

Shelley E. Kohan (10:59.98)
That’s so true. So my first word wasn’t wow, but it was, oh my God. All right, let’s start. How are going to staff the store? So recruiting in the US, probably the US workers, you do already have some stores here, but what’s going to be the recruitment strategy to get the best people to work in Primark?

Rene Federico (11:04.529)
Yes, we’ll take it.

Rene Federico (11:21.097)
Yeah, mean, have a great team, led by our VP of people and culture, John Hadid, we have a great team that works on all of our recruiting efforts, whether it’s sort of that grassroots at the mall in those locations or areas that we’re opening in, all the way through more macro efforts to kind of build our reputation as a corporate brand. I think…

One of the most amazing things about Primark is the people that you get to work with. And so we really do bring a really competitive and attractive proposition to our potential staffs and retail associates. And honestly, I will say this as someone who started on the retail sales floor, years ago, I won’t name how many.

I have a really deep understanding and a deep appreciation for the value of the store associate. And they really are the face of the brand day in and day out with our customers. They really do deliver our message over and over and over again. you know, if there are individuals out there that love style and fashion and trend, that love retail and retail operations, that love…

you know, being able to offer customers affordability, be able to offer customers a great message around quality and operate with retail excellence, we’re the place for them.

Shelley E. Kohan (12:59.724)
I loved it. I think we all started in retail. I turned, I literally was 17 when I graduated high school. I turned 18 a month later and two weeks after that I got a job at Bloomingdale’s as a sales associate. And here I am, X amount of years later, still in the business. And you’re right, you know, when you work it, you know what it takes, even with the changing environments in the stores.

Rene Federico (13:21.137)
Right, and I think we work really hard as marketers to create perceptions and to be able to drive, use all the marketing terminology, right? Make sure our proposition lands, create messaging, create perceptions with consumers and things like that. And I would say that one of our, the biggest…

tools that we have to be able to deliver our messages as marketers, our retail associates. And so they’re an extremely important part of our total holistic ecosystem that we offer for customers.

Shelley E. Kohan (14:02.333)
Absolutely. Marketing gets them to the door, but it’s the associate that really brands the experience, and that’s why they’re so important. I know you recent, I think last year you rolled out That’s So Primark, which is kind of a brand marketing campaign. So tell us, you know, why you did that and you know what that’s all about.

Rene Federico (14:09.573)
Exactly.

Rene Federico (14:23.017)
Well our campaign was, I mean really in the truest sense what campaigns are for, we need to build awareness for our brand. You know, I think we’re in a position where those who know us love us, but we need more, there are many more people out there that love us, they just don’t know it yet. And so our goal was to really create a campaign to be able to build awareness for the brand.

and start to fill that kind of top of the funnel to be able to deliver the bottom of the funnel. make…

aware of our brand, help them understand what we had to offer and then, you know, hopefully deliver them to stores through increased store traffic and consideration just in general as an option for shopping. And so, yeah, we created, we concepted and created a campaign with our agency, VCCP, to basically as that invitation to say, hey,

you should be in love with your closet. And if you’re not, well, we can help. And so this notion of sort of being able to fall in love with your closet or fall in love with an item and be able to kind of experience that sort of joy and optimism through shopping was the basis for the campaign. And so we launched a version of that.

And we know, you know, it’s in a uniquely Primark way. And that’s what that so Primark means. Like we were saying before that, my gosh, moment when you walk in or when you when you went there for one thing, but you end up with four other things. That is what we feel that so Primark means. You know, it’s it’s, you know, wearing your favorite denim jacket to a red carpet event. It’s, you know, being able to

Rene Federico (16:22.982)
you know, find everything on your list all at once and still be able to pick up something for yourself because your budget allows. So that type of uniqueness is really what That’s How Primark stands for. So we launched that campaign in fall of 24 and then we came back with

another chapter of that story here in the spring summer with fresh assets and a new take. And we focused that campaign on the New York metro area as our biggest market, our most store dense market. And we hope to continue to grow and be able to do more of that type of marketing to build more and more awareness for the brand. So like we were saying before is

If you’re out there and you don’t know who we are, we really want you to know us and love us.

Shelley E. Kohan (17:14.165)
I love that. So how many stores do you have in the US at this point?

Rene Federico (17:20.075)
33 and yeah, continuing to grow. So we have, like I said, a lot of exciting leases signed. think, you know, I have a bullseye on the Manhattan opening at Herald Square because again, I think that will do a lot for our brand in terms of establishing us or anchoring us as a player in the U.S. retail market. But we’re really excited about the markets that we’re going to.

Shelley E. Kohan (17:20.692)
Excellent.

Shelley E. Kohan (17:48.289)
Well, I think it’s amazing and I think you’re the perfect person to help with this expansion in US market. So I just want our listeners, I mean, you came from Nike and Converse and you have a ton of marketing backgrounds. So tell us a little bit about how what you did in the past is going to help you with this expansion.

Rene Federico (18:09.254)
Yeah, think probably one thing I’ve taken with me throughout the course of my career, even like we were saying prior, from the shop floor, all the way through different levels of management and leadership is, at the end of the day, it’s the customer that matters. so being able to put them at the center of how you’re going to formulate your strategies.

is hugely important to me and making them sort of, and those insights of the market be the guardrails by which you’re able to say, is what we’re doing gonna resonate? Is what we’re doing going to matter, right? So.

Definitely that’s one of the core tenants over the course of all that I’ve been involved in as it relates to marketing that remains really important is keeping the customer at the center. And then also, hey, making sure that we’re able to…

get out of the way of what we’re trying to do for our customers, you know, in terms of if we can just, you know, it’s a, we spend a lot of time talking about, you know, how, you know, how we’re going to land this message and what these strategies and objectives are and what are the key tenants of this and what are these, you know, meant to tent pole and really all that jargon never really.

matters to customers, it never really finds its way to customers. So how can we get out of the way of customers and just help them understand that we understand what they’re looking for and we’re able to deliver that and put something in front of them that resonates. that, you know, being able to deliver those messages with a lot of clarity and efficiency. Yeah, and then just being passionate about the space.

Rene Federico (20:05.967)
I think is also hugely important. It’s being out there and being willing to understand the insights, to understand the macro and micro factors that are affecting things and being able to understand the space with which you’re trying to operate and be effective.

Shelley E. Kohan (20:26.71)
It’s so interesting. just had this conversation the other day about how so many companies claim to put this customer at the center. And then you’re right. They get distracted with the execution and the operation. And then all of a sudden, the customer is kind of on the sideline looking in. So I love the fact that you’re very focused on that customer and the customer experience. And they should be the center of every decision that you’re making.

Rene Federico (20:36.401)
Yeah.

Rene Federico (20:54.151)
You know, I like to say that, I guess I have a lot of like shop analogies, but customers don’t shop org charts, they shop your brand. And so if you’re worried about really anything other than that, it’s probably good to just read. And I’m not saying those things aren’t important because they are obviously you have to have your game plan and operations and you have to be able to run efficiently. I mean, there’s a high level of investment that goes with marketing and it’s important to be able to have structures in place that

Shelley E. Kohan (21:02.335)
Yeah.

Shelley E. Kohan (21:12.694)
course.

Rene Federico (21:25.567)
to manage that, but 10 out of 10 customers walk through a door and it doesn’t really matter who made the decision on the copy. It just matters that it gets the right message across.

Shelley E. Kohan (21:39.084)
Renee, I’m stealing that. Can I, I have permission to steal that? I love that. Shoppers don’t shop a work chart. I love it, that’s awesome.

Rene Federico (21:42.875)
Yes, I think so. Yeah, they shop a brand. Yes, sure. For a small fee, happily, I’ll happily. Please do, spread the word.

Shelley E. Kohan (21:51.341)
I love it, I love it. Anything you want to close with or anything you want to leave our listeners with, we’re very excited about this. I’m so looking forward to the expansion and especially in Manhattan.

Rene Federico (22:02.885)
Yeah, I would just say, if you’re out there hearing this, go to our site, find a store near you. And even if it requires a little bit of a road trip, we’d love to have you. Because we really do believe our store experience is something special and unique. We’re always looking for ways to serve our customers better in the marketplace. So hopefully, there’s a Primark in your market. If there isn’t, hopefully, there’ll be one there soon.

And if we don’t have plans for that, let us know and maybe we’ll get you on the list. And other than that, Shelley, I had an awesome time chatting with you.

Shelley E. Kohan (22:38.056)
It’s always a pleasure and I thank you so much and good luck with the expansion. I’m sure we’ll be talking soon.

Rene Federico (22:43.995)
That sounds great.