Primark

All Spaniards could notice something important was going to happen at number 42 Gran Vía road (one of Madrid's most recognised and main streets). It wasn't until the 15th October 2015 when what was awaited came to its finish. Hundreds of young Spaniards were queued up in never-ending queues, in order to be able to get in to the opening of Primark (and there are two other shops in other places in Madrid although they are on the outskirts).

Primark is an Irish shop following the style of low cost fashion. For those affected by the changes brought by the Spanish economic crisis this was more than perfect, considering that it's these kind of stores that have started to steal the clientele during these past few years. The phenomenon of the Gran Vía's Primark has managed to overshadow the shops located right next to it such as Lefties or H&M, who have had to move the heavens, sea and earth in order to continue attracting clients that little by little, they're starting to lose amongst the queues to get into Primark. It was very common to see signs with sales that you wouldn't think they had in other shops, music on full blast and even entertainers dancing with all of their energy.

Hours and hundreds of metres of queues

The first time I went to Primark, my only intention was to buy winter clothes and some warm pyjamas at a good price. It was a bit naive on my part that I thought I was going to be able and want to go in. It went a couple of days after its opening and I found you had to queue. The said queue was found on one side of the building. When I looked to go join it, I came across a queue over three hundred metres long and that even extended up to the Plaza de la Luna. It was incredible to see these people waiting during the heavy rain. These were the ones eager to buy for the sake of buying.

The employees that were putting up fences and making sure no one pushed in the queue (even giving out tickets that they ask for at the entrance, in order to make sure you didn't push in), were stupefied to see people were ready to queue for over two hours just to be able to buy in a shop, which had two other branches in other places in Madrid. Obviously I ended up leaving because for me, it wasn't worth waiting for too long. I remember having to go near Gran Vía the Monday and just by curiosity, I passed by but I couldn't believe the queue was still there. It wasn't until late at night the same day when I passed by to return home and found there wasn't a queue. I went in without thinking, in order to be able to buy what I wanted.

(View of the street from the bottom floor. It can be noted that they protect the entrance so you can only access it via the queue on one side of the building).

A shop or a shopping centre?

It's almost impossible to not gape once you enter Primark since it has five different floors: no more and no less. On the first, there will be women's clothing; on the second, accessories and more women's clothing; on the third floor there will be exclusively men's clothing; on the fourth, articles like pyjamas, underwear, trainers, cleaning accessories etc. and on the fifth, children's clothing and multiple accessories for the home are found.

In order to give you an idea, they had to employ approximately 573 employees to be able to satisfy demands and aforementioned employees don't just work during the shop's opening hours. They even work during the early hours of the morning in order to be able to put stock out! The shop is so big it takes up an entire block. They say it takes up approximately 12, 400 metres cubed!

Primark's variety

Many people who go to Primark aren't just attracted by its low prices, but otherwise by the variety of things it has and above all at number 42 Gran Vía. For example, there is a section just for pyjamas and although the section is small in comparison to the shop, this section would be the same size as an entire clothes shop on the Gran Vía. For women, there is a very complete section for underwear where you can find from knickers your grandmother would wear to different kinds of thongs. There is also special underwear for pregnant women or girdles for people recovering from an operation. Bras are abundant everywhere and pretty designs aren't just in common sizes. You will also find many designs if you're a D to G cup.

If you want to refurbish your house and buy towels, quilts, pillowcases or cushions, you will also find them here considering that home-ware is plentiful on the fifth floor. Wow! They had already put up Christmas decorations and it was barely even October.

And if I want to go with my boyfriend or my father?

Don't worry! Your boyfriend or dad or uncle will be fascinated too because there will be a floor just for them. There will be winter clothing, shoes, pyjamas, underwear, accessories, sports clothing, etc. on it. It's to be expected that he'll finish seeing the clothes much earlier than you will, but there are areas distributed throughout the store with cushions and spaces designed for 'those who are tired', 'those who're waiting for their girlfriend' or 'those who have no charge on their phone' as it also has free chargers in order for you to charge your phone.

The dark truth behind Primark and its cheap prices

Despite the brand being Irish, it doesn't mean that all the clothes they sell will be made there. One of the good things about Primark is it has clothes fabricated in many countries all over the world. However one of the worst things is that most of those countries are Bangladesh or Cambodia where the workers are forced to remain for long working days in poor conditions.

One of the most well known news announcements was the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013. Over a thousand were left dead. It's very sad to know that the workers don't want to carry on in the building for obvious cracks that put their life in danger but they force them to come back with insults and even violence. Unfortunately, Primark was one of the 28 contractors of that building so all the injustices and low salaries came to light after the accident (less than one dollar a day). In fact, there is a documentary about this called The Real Cost and it's very recommendable, in order to open up your eyes a little bit about what you're buying.

Facing the incident, Primark decided to react by making an 8 million euro donation to the victims' families and committed itself to repairing the damage, as well as the poor working conditions.

I myself, recommend only buying the minimum of necessities in Primark and to check the clothing's labels long before buying it. In this way, we know what we are promoting and supporting.

It's also important to mention that such low prices mean low quality clothing. Other than the accessories such as underwear, pyjamas, home-ware, scarves etc., I realised the clothing has an even worse quality than that in H&M.

How to get there?

Primark is approximately half way across the Gran Vía (at McDonald's level). I recommend going by metro, bus or walking.

Metro: The closest station is Gran Vía, on the green line (line 5) although you can also get off at the Callao or Plaza España (line 2 or yellow line) and walk a few meters.

Bus: Lines 1, 2, 202 and 74. They will drop you off directly in front of it.

When is Primark open?

It's open everyday (yes, you read correctly! ) from 10. 00am until 10. 00pm.

When's the best time to go?

One of the things I realised is that it's much emptier during the week. Don't go at the weekend if you don't want to queue. The best times to go will be when it's just opened (10am), lunch time (between 2. 00pm - 4. 00pm) or when it shuts within the hour.