Cult brand Primark opens store in Dubai

DUBAI: Budget fashion retailer Primark has opened in the UAE, with videos on social media showing crowds gathering outside in anticipation.

The 7,000-sq.-meter store can be found at Dubai Mall, marking the popular brand’s second outing in the Middle East with franchise ​partner Alshaya ⁠Group.

Thursday’s launch follows Primark’s regional debut in Kuwait in October 2025. Two further UAE stores are in the pipeline, with plans to open in Qatar and Bahrain by the end of 2026.

Primark, founded in Dublin in 1969, is a subsidiary of ‌London-listed Associated ‌British Foods. It operates as Penneys in Ireland but adopted the name-change overseas to avoid disputes with US chain JCPenney.

The store in Dubai Mall has 601 staff members and 350,000 units of floor stock. Alshaya Group CEO John Hadden has told Gulf Business that stock levels will meet demand despite ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We have more than enough product because we imported almost all the product we needed for our three store launches before the crisis started,” he told the newspaper. “There’s no need for customers to worry at all.”