How Primark expanded to the Middle East

Primark Opened a New Store in Dubai UAEBrands often choose a particular target market and pricing strategy to serve their audience in their chosen marketplaces. If they have no presence in one country, that doesn’t translate to opportunity for one to run an exact same business with the exact same brand name. This sounds obvious, but shockingly this is what happened in Bur Dubai in the modern days of 21st century; when news travel within seconds thanks to advanced communications technological developments.

It is worth mentioning that Social Media channels, in particular Twitter, played a role in terms of sharing pictures and commentaries; something which could potentially be seen in a wrong way by people if Primark didn’t step in at a right moment.

People of Dubai were excited to see Primark opens a store in highly populated area of Bur Dubai; but within hours Primark made a statement that the store is not owned by the brand and it is bogus. If Primark sell low price clothing, that doesn’t mean the brand has cheap positioning with no legal protection; Primark is massive with hundreds of stores across Europe and indeed popular amongst almost everyone. This is probably the reason behind setting up the fake Primark in Dubai; trusted, popular and affordable brand.

It is however a odd case to see counterfeiting of a brand which not that many would consider for their personal image and proud with regards to traditional social class classifications.

Primark realised that majority of people can’t afford expensive clothing and there’s a gap in the market; yes it is commercial but also thoughtful of those with tight spending budget. Needless to say, quality of garments at Primark might not be of the best, but certainly value for money.

The brand Primark has a registered trademark licence and that makes them protected; which leads to legal consequences for those ignore the rights of the brands – in this case the owners of the two floors fake Primark in Bur Dubai of UAE.

Primark made their position clear that they’re considering their legal options and now working with relevant legal bodies in the UAE; a unique case to watch and follow its further development.

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Ehsan has been working in social media and digital PR since 2006. He is a keen blogger and has over 40 published articles. He has spoken about social media and digital branding at the British Chamber of Commerce, University of Westminster, University of Milan and numerous startup communities in Europe. Michigan State University and Miami University have referenced his work in their study of social media in 2012.