World's biggest Primark opens for Easter Monday

But flagship store thronged with shoppers searching for bargains and pampering on Easter Saturday

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15:53, 20 APR 2019
Updated11:24, 22 APR 2019

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The tills are ringing at the world's biggest Primark in Birmingham city centre as crowds surge in for its first long weekend of opening.

Queues were watched by security guards as shoppers took the chance to check out the flagship megastore on its maiden holiday weekend.

The gigantic store - which opened on Thursday, April 11 - has 160,100 sq ft of retail space and five floors of fashion as well as a new Disney-themed cafe among its food outlets.

The retail giant had pushed its pamper packages ahead of the Easter break, offering to get revellers prepared for nights out with treatments from £4.

The queue at Primark on its maiden long weekend (Image: Birmingham Live)

Staff said the giant complex had been busy every day since opening, with a queuing system needed at most times to enter the bargain store.

However, the efficient procedure meant it only took a minute to get inside this afternoon, with a slightly longer wait at most tillls.

It's called Primark Birmingham High Street, but has been unofficially known as Primark Pavilions because it takes over the entire site of what was once Birmingham's Pavilions shopping centre.

A security guard keeps watch over a queue to get into the world's biggest Primark (Image: Birmingham Live)

The massed crowds thronging the newcomer to Birmingham's retail scene come amid renewed hope for the city's business and retail fortunes, despite gloomy national headlines.

Why not swing by the #duckanddryxpress studio in our brand new #PrimarkBirmingham store this weekend! Get pampered or prep for a big night out, with treatments from only £4! (Pssst... you can also find a salon in our Tottenham Court Road store in London!) ✨ #PrimarkBeauty pic.twitter.com/xzc6DDlzgp
— Primark (@Primark) April 19, 2019

Damian Wild, editor and publisher at Estates Gazette, was impressed with the spectacle as stewards and security guards kept watch of the crowds being funneled into entry and exit lanes.

He wrote on Twitter: "As a piece of retail theatre, Primark Birmingham is diverse and hugely impressive.

"Heaving too: queues to get in and at the tills."

Damian posted a picture which showed one lady ducking under an exit rope to beat the crowds.

As a piece of retail theatre, @Primark Birmingham is diverse and hugely impressive. Heaving too: queues to get in and at the tills. Taking a leaf out of @JamesChildEG ’s book, spending a long weekend exploring #retail and ways to beat the #retailcrisis pic.twitter.com/H5Goevg3IV
— Damian Wild (@DamianWild) April 20, 2019

Security guards also manned escalators between the five floors. which include a beauty studio, an in-store barbers' salon from Joe Mills and five 'dining experiences'.

As well as a giant interior, the store at 38 High Street opens between 8am and 9pm most days, including today and Easter Monday.

It will shut on Easter Sunday for a rare breather.

Vast range: The scene inside Birmingham's new Primark on its first long weekend after launching (picture courtesy Damian Wild)

The megastore even has a Guinness World Record to its name after being judged the world's largest fashion retail store.

Interest in cut-price fashion showed no sign of waning on Satrday.

One member of staff said the day was particularly busy but they were "trying to do a good job and give everyone a good customer experience".

One shopper told Birmingham Live: "I'm on a proper mission today, there's too much good stuff in here."

The long weekend will give many the chance to enjoy the store's full features of shopping, pampering and dining.

Big draw: Crowds outside Primark (picture courtesy Damian Wild)

The store is the cut-price brand's 187th in the UK and has created more than 500 jobs, with 430 colleagues transferring from other locations in Birmingham.

Around 5,000 people descended on the store on its opening day.