As Primark bounces back post-pandemic, the value giant is making some big changes and the appointment of Michelle McEttrick as its first chief customer officer signals there are more to come. 

Michelle McEttrick

Michelle McEttrick is Primark’s first chief customer officer

McEttrick, who arrives at Primark next month and will report to chief executive Paul Marchant, was most recently at Tesco.

She spearheaded some of the grocer’s most important initiatives as group brand director until leaving last year.

The expectation is that she will do the same at Primark. The retailer has in recent months dipped its toe into digital retail, having famously only traded from stores in the past, and has formed a strategic advisory board chaired by departing ABF finance boss John Bason (who will be succeeded by Marks & Spencer chief financial officer Eoin Tonge).

McEttrick looks well placed to make an impact on the digital and strategic fronts.

“The way we position our brand and engage customers to increase loyalty and win new fans to Primark will be critical to our success”

Paul Marchant, Primark

Marchant said when she was appointed: “At a time of extraordinary change in our industry, the strength of the Primark brand has never been more important. 

“We see huge opportunities for growth, and the way we position our brand and engage customers to increase loyalty and win new fans to Primark will be critical to our success.”

McEttrick will be in charge of all marketing and customer communications, customer insight and the Primark Cares sustainability strategy as the retailer expands “across new markets, channels and products”.

She describes herself on LinkedIn as a “20-year digital native with a track record of repositioning and revitalising world-class British brands”. 

McEttrick’s time at Tesco 

Originally from the US, McEttrick has worked at agencies including McCann Erickson in Seattle as well as businesses ranging from Barclays to US website Allrecipes.com.

At Tesco, she was part of the turnaround team assembled by Dave Lewis to revive the grocer following some of its darkest days. 

There she won credit for initiatives such as the Food Love Stories marketing campaign before going on to launch the Clubcard Plus digital subscription scheme and Clubcard Prices.

One person who worked with her at Tesco says: “She’s got a very keen eye for a brand – what is special about it and how that can be communicated to a broad audience. 

“[McEttrick’s appointment] suggests Primark wants to do something more rounded to enhance its broader brand in the eyes of the consumer, rather than just focusing on price”

Industry insider

“She saw that the Tesco brand was something that could be improved and leveraged. She got Tesco to do things differently and better articulate what the business was about, what the business stood for, in its TV adverts and customer comms.” 

“Michelle is not someone who is going to run a great price campaign. She’s very much a brand marketeer. That’s interesting because it suggests Primark wants to do something more rounded to enhance its broader brand in the eyes of the consumer, rather than just focusing on price.”

Primark London

Primark’s brand strengths are evident in terms such as ‘Primani’

It is easy to imagine how McEttrick might replicate such initiatives at Primark. One industry analyst who has worked with her says: “Supermarkets can be businesses that people love to hate – they are tolerated, rather than loved.

“She knew Tesco had a great legacy and, alongside all the work on things like prices, promotions and availability, Food Love Stories was all about reminding people that the reason Tesco exists is to help create happy moments around the dinner table.”

Primark may benefit from similar storytelling. While its brand strengths are evident in terms such as ‘Primani’, the analyst says that, despite efforts made by the retailer, for many consumers “there’s a lingering feeling that if you’re paying £10 for jeans then someone, somewhere is paying for it”.

Primark Shrewsbury

Primark has a chance to ‘get the message out’ on issues such as provenance and factory standards

There is an opportunity to “get the message out” on issues such as provenance and factory standards, complementing Primark’s price credentials while expanding its image as Tesco did.

Digital channels look likely to become more important to Primark’s commercial success.

While the retailer has not been able to make the economics of transacting online stack up – yet – it is piloting services such as click and collect or in-store availability checking online.

McEttrick’s expertise in digital approaches at Tesco, and before that at start-up Allrecipes, is likely to be invaluable at Primark from a commercial, communications and loyalty perspective.

She will also bring the benefit of wide experience, including banking as well as marketing and retail.

Headhunter Tony Gregg of Anthony Gregg Partnership says: “It’s interesting [Primark] has not gone for someone from fashion, but for someone completely fresh, who’s creative, who’s been involved in a lot of transformation.

“It’s what we’re seeing a lot of retailers doing, finding people who can bring new ideas and ways of doing things.”

According to McEttrick’s LinkedIn page, she “thrives in assimilating and developing strategies for markets disrupted by a proliferation of new competitors” and “takes the unknown in [her] stride with no compromise to values or results”.

If she has the same impact at Primark as she did at Tesco, expect the apparel powerhouse’s fundamental appeal to be strengthened in new ways, with a fresh approach to telling a compelling consumer story.

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