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20th December 2016
12:18am GMT
Penneys is one of the biggest success stories to come out of Ireland.
Their international brand 'Primark' is now spreading across Europe and even into the USA, selling affordable fashion at the lower end of the market with great success.
Irish shoppers' eyes light up when you talk about Penneys, so we decided to share 16 interesting facts about the huge high street fashion retailer...
It was June 1969 when Arthur Ryan opened the first shop in Dublin, with demand being so high that he quickly added another four over the coming couple of years.
Pic: streetsbroadandnarrow.com
When Penneys moved into the UK in 1974, they decided to change their name to Primark to avoid legal action by the large American retailer JCPenney.
Booo!
Some of the mannequins they were using in their stores showed protruding ribs, which many claimed put pressure on young women to be thin.
#Fashion mannequins now showing ribs http://t.co/RX29jtCfUX
— Marie Guerlain (@MarieGuerlain) August 5, 2014
@Melfyx We're currently changing our window displays. The mannequins you describe will not be used in this way again.
— Primark (@Primark) July 24, 2014
It covers a whopping 155,000 square ft (14,400 square metres) and is spread out over three floors, so you can shop to your heart's content.
That's a lot of Penneys.
What started in Dublin is now a brand that stretches all across Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA.
A seriously big achievement.
And that number continues to rise as new stores open and can swell even further during busy periods like Christmas and the sales.
The controversy surrounding Primark goes far beyond mannequins.
This note was found in the pocket of a pair of trousers that a women bought in Belfast. It was written in Chinese and said that the workers were forced to work 15-hour days and given food not fit for animals when making the clothes.
Primark have carried out investigations, and claimed such notes to be hoaxes.
Primark has been described by City analysts as "a roaring success" and has gone from strength to strength and the investment bank UBS recently valued them at $19 billion and rising fast.
It isn't just the Irish and English who know about the great deals in Primark. Most of their new shop openings across Europe need barriers, several bouncers and crowd control systems.
He sobrevivido al Primark de Gran Vía!!! Y no he tenido que hacer cola!!! pic.twitter.com/FcJaZq0ijq
— Victor Sahuillo (@victorsahuillo) October 23, 2015
READ: Madrid Has Got A Brand New Penneys And The Spanish Are Absolutely Loving It
This was after a building collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,100 workers who had been making Primark clothes, as well as clothes for other brands.
Primark was one of the only brands to pay.
The beauty bar was a place to get nails and brows done at their Liverpool, Manchester and Mary's Street stores, offering reasonably priced cosmetic treatments.
He started off buying ties and was the guiding force behind their huge growth until he retired in 2009. He's an intensely private man who always travels with bodyguards and never gives interviews.
Their stuff may seem cheap, but the chain that began with a humble little shop on Dublin's Mary Street now brings in a cool £5bn annually.
Penneys will try to do what so many other chains have failed to do and that's crack America, having launched their first store stateside in Boston in 2014.
READ NEXT: 44 Thoughts Everyone Has Had While Shopping at Penneys
