Managing processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing processes - Essay Example Next this paper will perform an in-depth analysis of the contributing factors of the firm that has made it so successful in today’s climate. The origins of Primark are in Ireland in where in1969 the company was set up as ABF but traded as ‘Penneys’ (The Times, 2007). According to the company website by the end of 1971 there were twelve stores in Ireland and one additional store in Northern Ireland (Primark.co.uk 2009) However, it was not until the late 1990’s that the organization really started to reach its full potential as operating as Primark. The president of the company Arthur Ryan made a drastic decision to redirect the focus of ABF towards what would ultimately be the youth fashion market. It was in 1995 that Primark had a significant shift in the growth of their business with acquisition of the BHS One-Up discount chain of stores in the UK. It was from this new acquisition that, according to The Times (2007), Arthur Ryan (President of the company) became the driving force of the organsiation to continue to purchase a great deal of stock to drive down costs in an effort to be the cheapest merchants on every High street. At the moment according to Retail-Week.com (2005) Primark controls 2.5% but this trend is growing for the organization. Speaking of the ‘Value’ clothing market it has been further estimated that the market in the UK alone is worth  £6.4 billion (Retail-Week, 2005) and again this is a growing trend. According to McDougall writing for The Guardian, Primark has faced a number of allegations of unethical behavior in the last few years (2009). Earlier this year the firm was accused of paying illegal immigrants to make knitwear for the firm and stands accused of paying them just  £3.50 an hour which is under the national minimum wage. These allegations come after media accusations in 2008 that the firm was sourcing goods from textile mills in developing