New Primark – Bullring Birmingham

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Straight away when you enter it is easily noticeable from the outside where to find the new Primark as it is well signposted and also a massive building. It is entirely flat access and wide doored making entry easy. There were multiple lifts within the Shop which made getting up and down floors easy. There was never a long wait (or really any wait) to be able to use the lifts. The shop itself is spread across 5 floors and this extra space has been used to allow more space between clothing displays making it much easier to manoeuvre around. Whereas the previous Primark was very cramped and cluttered the new Primark was a pleasure to go around and this took the stress out entirely of the shopping experience.

When I heard there was going to be a Harry Potter section in the new Primark I assumed it would be like the one in London. It was smaller than I expected but it still had a good amount of Harry Potter items and clothing. It was good for what it was but I was expecting a larger quantity of goods. I imagine this will come if the area proves popular enough. It will be interesting to see if the stock changes regularly and whether they will expand their stock when the next Fantastic Beasts movie comes out. It was easy to identify as the Harry Potter section as it had been decorated quite heavily with Potter motifs. The area itself was well organised and nicely laid out. There was a lot of POP Harry Potter themed related items in this section which shows how quickly they are responding to the popularity of POP goods.

One of the new features of this Primark was the T-Shirt printing area. This area had 3 screens where you could design personalised t-shirts (£8), kid t-shirts or tote bags (£3) There were two themes you could choose to design from including Disney and Star Wars. Preferring Disney over Star Wars I went to make a t-shirt and a tote bag. I thought they were quite reasonably priced for personalised printed items. It was helpful that they had a rack featuring every size of the t-shirt so you could physically see how big the t-shirts were and how well the designs printed before purchasing. You could also see exactly how the designs were affected by the colour of the t-shirt so you were able to make a more informed decision. I was trying to overthink about what I was going to put on the t-shirt and tote-bag but there were clear sections that you went through to make the product. There was a range of Disney characters readily available to choose from although I hope it further expands in the future as it’s still quite basic. You could see the design as you were making it so you could test out different ideas and try and fit the background to the character. It also had a selection of phrases you could pick from which were quite cute and they were quite relevant to the characters that were available. You could type your own message on the bottom where you could also play about with the font. I think it was a good feature to have in this new Primark and am sure it will expand to other stores if successful in this Birmingham branch. I am also sure the range of designs will expand as well, as they are not in any way limited by what the machines can print. I hope to see a Harry Potter expansion soon!

Another new feature at this Primark is the Disney themed cafe (as well as a regular cafe). I have been there twice already as have really enjoyed it. It is very nostalgic and brings out your inner child. The layout is quite nice and very Mickey mouse focused and the staff have to wear the mouse-themed ears. It is laid out like an American diner so it is spacious when it is not busy but can be difficult at other times when it’s busy, especially with prams and shopping staked on the floor. This is made more relevant as I have to order from the counter – if it’s not busy this isn’t a problem but when it is this adds to difficulties of getting around. There is a wide selection of food, however, only the kid options are on the handheld menu. There is a range of kid-friendly items as well as hot panini,’s sandwiches and salads. There is also a number of cakes to satisfy your sweet tooth – I particularly enjoyed the Rainbow cake. In keeping with the Disney themed it is quite brightly coloured and there is a Disney soundtrack playing in the background with small monitors displaying old Disney cartoons. The service is quite pleasant and the members of staff were quite helpful in aiding us to get to the table and the table service itself was quite prompt if you ordered food and drinks. They also offered Mickey Mouse pancakes and waffles with fruit as a dessert option which was very cute.

Overall I think the new Primark in Birmingham City Centre is an excellent addition to the City Centre and it has good potential to expand its newly introduced features in store.