Derby: Primark’s first UK store was run on a ‘shoestring’

A man who came to England from Ireland to help manage Primark’s first UK store has returned to the business as it celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Ben Mansfield came from Dublin to Derby as a 20-year-old in 1974 and was part of the team which opened the store.

The 70-year-old said Derby “suited our customer profile” at the time, but added the retailer, which now has 185 stores across the UK and employs more than 30,000 people, was “working at a shoestring”.

Mr Mansfield, who retired in 2017 as a Primark board member, returned to the city on Thursday as staff past and present marked the milestone.

Primark officially opened its doors on 26 September 1974 at the Babington Lane shop, although it had traded in the city since 1973 under the name Penneys.

American retailer JC Penney had the right to use the name in the UK, so the store was renamed as Primark, but the business still trades as Penneys in Ireland.

“All we knew was Ireland. The UK was a much bigger marketplace, and Derby was our first test store,” Mr Mansfield said.

“If Derby had not worked, who knows what might have happened?

“Derby was absolutely critical to the expansion of Primark worldwide.”

Mr Mansfield said he was a “young Irish guy” and was “welcomed with open arms” by the people of Derby.

“We had a great time and became Rams supporters,” he said.

Primark Derby then moved to the Eagle Centre in 1984, where it remained until 2005, before relocating to its current location in Cornmarket three years later, where an event was held to mark the milestone.

Mr Mansfield says the store layout nowadays is “totally different” compared to 1974.

“We opened up without any overhead signage,” he said.

“We had canvas banners dictating where the departments were, and we had five tills.

“We didn’t have any mannequins in those days, so it was very much a budget operation, because we were working at a shoestring.”

Arthur Ryan founded Penneys in 1969 – and Mr Mansfield said Mr Ryan visited the Derby store from Ireland on a weekly basis for four months.

Mr Mansfield added: “I learned the importance of looking after your local customers, because everywhere is different, it doesn’t matter where you are.

“The people of Derby know what value for money means, and they taught us a few lessons in those early days.

“I also learned the importance of being aware of competition. We visited our competitors three times a week.”

Sue Rook, of Shelton Lock in Derby, began working on the Primark Derby shopfloor back in 1976 when she was 16.

Over 44 years, she worked her way up to a management role before leaving in 2020.

The 64-year-old said, even though things had changed for the better, she still felt like she was “part of a family”.

Ms Rook said one of the biggest changes she saw over her years with Primark was the improvement of technology.

She said: “There were no mobile phones. There were no fax machines, so everything used to be run through individually and it used to take you hours.”

Ms Rook said someone would have to phone the head office weekly to update them on sales – and tills would need to be charged up overnight.

“We used to have to plug them in at night and charge them up and then plug them in during the daytime,” she said.

“And if you forgot to charge your battery up, then you were in big trouble next morning because you couldn’t get your till to work.”

Ms Rook spoke of the pride she would get from bringing stock into a store and presenting it for customers.

“It makes you feel proud for your town as well because you think, well, at least people are going to come in now and see what Derby can do.

“You look back, it’s good memories. You can see how far it’s come now and what a big leap we’ve made,” she added.