How Primark Blends Storytelling and Store Design, with Jessica Garbarino

Jessica Garbarino of Primark U.S. discusses the challenges and opportunities of building brand awareness in a new country. She highlights the importance of storytelling and making emotional connections with customers. She and Sid dive into in-store experience, local community design, and a measured growth strategy. Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar. A podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance. Primark is an international fashion retailer employing more than 80,000 colleagues across 17 countries in Europe and the US. It was founded in Ireland in 1969. Guest Bio: Jessica Garbarino leads internal and external communications for Primark in the United States. As a member of the US Leadership Team, Jess is part of the team growing the US business and taking Primark from an unknown brand to a mainstay for American shoppers across the country. Jess has worked across iconic brands in the US to build brand heat and connect consumers with purpose and values. Most recently Jess worked on Reebok's social purpose team, driving storytelling around Reebok's pillar social purpose program BOKS, now Active Kids Active Minds. Timestamps: 00:49 - About Primark 02:02 - Jessica’s journey 04:54 - Storytelling as a brand 08:00 - Introducing a new brand 11:08 - Do Americans shop differently? 17:35 - The myth of the mall 28:47 - How to focus on your staff 33:11 - Digital experiences in stores 40:20 - Where to find Jessica 41:55 - Sid’s takeaways SPONSOR: ServiceChannel brings you peace of mind through peak facilities performance. Rest easy knowing your locations are: Offering the best possible guest experience Living up to brand standards Operating with minimal downtime ServiceChannel partners with more than 500 leading brands globally to provide visibility across operations, the flexibility to grow and adapt to consumer expectations, and accelerated performance from their asset fleet and service providers. Links: Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn Connect with Sid Shetty on Linkedin Check out the ServiceChannel Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.