Kevin Tulip’s first experience working in retail was attaching price tags to clothing in the stockroom of Topshop during two weeks’ school work experience in Newcastle, Scotland, where he grew up. 

From a young age, he had enjoyed shopping with his parents and friends, so it seemed a natural fit to see what it would be like working in a store when he had to choose where to fulfil his work experience. 

“I loved it. Then I had the chance to be on the shop floor and work the checkouts, and I still remember the buzz and excitement of an afternoon on the sales floor, chatting with customers about finding a different size and trying to locate it in the stockroom,” Tulip told Inside Retail’s Amie Larter for the video series Retail Transformers. 

“There were so many parts of retail that I really, really enjoyed that I knew as soon as those two weeks were over … that I wanted that to be in retail.”

And so began his first role at Topshop and a storied career that now sees him in the role of president of Primark US, the Irish fast-fashion chain, which last year turned over US$12.9 billion globally, and where he has worked two decades. 

“It’s incredible to have been with one business for 22 years. I’ve seen Primark evolve from where we were as a relatively small business, really only in the UK and Ireland.” 

From Primark’s early years, he recalls many down-to-earth, authentic leaders who inspired him and helped shape his work ethic. “The feeling of being celebrated for working hard and achieving things was something I really resonated with. My parents instilled a very strong sense of work ethic, … and I remember looking at some of the managers and the supervisors when I was quite young and thinking, it’s really weird that I respond better to you, or actually I feel like I want to do more for you than you.”

Timing can often be the master of good fortune, and Tulip’s Primark career is a living example of that. “I was very lucky. Primark was expanding in the UK, and then into Ireland, which was a great chance to be moving around with the business.

Tulip recalls working weekends at Primark, walking around the store with department managers checking sizes on t-shirts, on tables, and checking fixtures. Nowadays he is still walking the floor with leaders, asking questions like ‘How is that size selling? How is that colour working? Have we got any more of that in the stock room?’ and ‘What are the customers telling you?’. 

“Retail is quite simple in its essence around delivering for the customer, around really strong standards, great size integrity, and being able to give the customer that emotional impact when they walk in of ‘Oh my god, I love that, and they’ve got it in my size, and the price is incredible’.” 

A careful US strategy bears fruit

Primark launched in the US 10 years ago, and Tulip says the first half of that period was dedicated to testing, trialling and refining the brand’s business model there. 

“In the last three years, we’ve hit the accelerator, and we’ve started to recruit a lot of people, and we are looking at a lot of internal promotions.”

Tulip says the hardest part of his job is taking a 56-year-old brand – loved in Ireland, the UK, and across 14 European countries – and figuring out how to bring its DNA, culture, and value-driven fashion to the US, without bringing what doesn’t work in that market.

For example, Primark’s pricing strategy and structure are very transparent in the UK and Europe: $10 jeans and $4.50 t-shirts. There are no half-price sales or buy-one-get-one-free promotions. However, US consumers have been conditioned to look for deals. 

To communicate that value to US customers effectively requires a different approach in the US than in Europe. “This is something that we continue to learn lessons on today, and we are continuing to look at how we need to change the way we think about the customer value proposition in the US. That’s just one of many things that we grapple with.”

Ensuring Primark delivers excellent retail standards and size integrity is no different in the US to the UK, but Tulip says the markets differ, and even within the US, consumers’ needs differ. “What’s right for Massachusetts, New York, or the Northeast versus what’s right for Florida, or the Southeast, and what’s right for Texas – there will also be learnings there for us as we continue to grow.”

Digital influences

Stores are everything to Primark, but social media is something the brand has been building for a long time. “Some people might assume we are a bit blind to that, but our global Instagram channel has over 11 million followers. When you think about us being a very European-centric retailer, and you compare that with other big global retailers, we are big in that space.”

Primark’s website is a crucial part of the business and has recently been updated. A stock tracker ensures that if you log on to Primark.com, you are able to see “great photography, up-to-date products and trends, where the stores are and where we’re opening”. To help customers plan a store visit, they can see online if a product they like the look of is in stock in their size. 

“Ultimately, everything is geared up to get you into the store. We are currently conducting a click-and-collect trial in the UK, which is exciting. But again, that’s all geared up around an incremental part of the in-store experience.”

Primark now has 29 stores trading in the US, with leases signed for 18 more, marking the start of the brand’s most intense period of growth yet. A 55,000sqft flagship store is on track to open in Spring in Manhattan’s Herald Square. 

But with expansion comes a risk he shares: The danger of focusing so much on new store openings and expansion that “at some point, you look back over your shoulder and realise some parts of your business have become unhealthy”.

“That’s something I am keen that we must not allow. Our founder used to emphasise the importance of never being complacent and never being satisfied. That’s really stuck with me.”

• Watch Kevin Tulip talk with Amie Larter for the Retail Transformers series and hear how he has learned to navigate the diverse leadership structures of retail businesses in various international markets, the company’s expansion plans for the US, and the role he considers is the most important in any retail business.