George Weston, the man behind the success of Primark
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Grandson of the founder, he is now in charge of the successful multinational "low cost" clothing
Oct 10, 2021 . Updated at 12:09 p.m.Surely anyone who reads these lines knows what Primark is, which is one of the most popular low-cost clothing multinationals on the planet for a reason. Flour from another costal is if I ask you about Associated British Foods (ABF). Well, I'll tell you: it's the business group that the well-known Irish company is part of. Even less may the name of W. Garfield Weston ring a bell, the man who built that empire, of which countless brands are part. Almost all food. Among them Azucarera or Twinings (the one with the teas). So you could say that Primark is almost an oddball within ABF.
Of course, if you think about it, with nuances, of course, the clothing chain that concerns us is quite similar to a supermarket: huge quantities of products, almost daily turnover and prices within the reach of almost anyone. Weird, yes, but it is the jewel in the crown of the group, at whose command George Weston (United Kingdom, 1964), grandson of the founder, now sits.
But the story of this titan began four generations ago, in the bakery that W. Garfield Weston's father opened in Toronto in 1882. After returning from Europe, where he had fought in France during the First World War, Garfield he convinced his father to embark on the production of English confectionery. The same one that helped to sweeten the hard moments that he lived during the war in the Old Continent. And the idea caught on. Such was the success that they soon spread throughout Canada. Then they made the jump to the United States. They did well too.
It was the year 1924 when George Weston died and his son took over the reins of the family business. He was just 26 years old. More savvy than his father in financial matters and much less conservative than him, he decided to go out shopping and add new companies to the future family emporium. The Great Depression provided him with juicy opportunities - companies at knockdown prices - that the young Garfield knew how to take advantage of. In 1933 he went one step further and crossed the pond again. This time for business. It was then that he bought Mitchell & Mull, a Scottish biscuit maker. In this way he killed two birds with one stone: he set foot on the British market and disposed of surplus Canadian wheat, then the country's first export. To the United Kingdom he would end up moving with his family shortly after, and he even became a member of the House of Commons.
However, he is not the real father of Primark, but Arthur Ryan, also deceased, whom the Weston family hired at the end of the sixties, when he worked as a tailor, to promote his business in Ireland. It was him who came up with low cost fashion.
The Weston that is now at the helm of the business took over the reins of the conglomerate, managed by two branches of the family, in 2005. Since then, the group has done nothing but grow. His success: betting precisely on the fashion chain, which today has almost 400 stores spread over 12 countries in Europe and America. His main challenge: get fully into the flour of digital sales, in which he is not yet. surprisingly.
© Copyright LA VOZ DE GALICIA SA Polígono de Sabón, Arteixo, A CORUÑA (SPAIN) Registered in the Mercantile Registry of A Coruña in Volume 2438 of the Archive, General Section, on pages 91 and following, page C-2141. CIF: A-15000649.
