Primor opens flagship store in Barcelona

Primor's importance in the Spanish beauty sector is indisputable. Primor is known for its good prices, a positioning it has achieved with a clever mix of "bazaar" products -often exclusive- and discounts on well-known brands, breaking the control they exerted over the channel and provoking more than one price war between perfumeries. In December 2022, Primor opened its flagship store concept in Barcelona, in the unbeatable location of Portal del Ángel next to Plaza Cataluña.

 

The concept, already inaugurated in two stores in Madrid, is based on a larger store size, more product families and a groundbreaking visual design that develops a very interesting concept: "planet skin". Throughout the store we find surfaces of different textures as a metaphor for the diversity of human skin. There are also digital creations and messages that speak emotionally to the buyer about this concept. 

Distribution of space and content

The new store is large, 1,200 m2 spread over 3 floors.

Street level: Framed in gold and silver we find the selective brands. It seems to be designed so that the gold area is for perfumery and the silver for cosmetics, although the majority use of the brands' own furniture, in which all the product of a brand is grouped, means that perfumes, make-up and cosmetics are mixed throughout the floor. Asking the staff is the surest way to locate what you are looking for.

High-end name brands are present although they don't offer the full assortment, which makes sense with Primor's and the brands' strategy. Here you will find best sellers at very good prices: brands get volume and Primor gets positioning.

On this floor there is also a smaller copper-colored section -another skin- with professional range products and the most talked-about area of the store (and novel in concept): sex toys, surrounded by a passion red skin. A priori provocative, but it may make sense as an extension of the range, since these are products that provide care and pleasure, as well as cosmetics and perfumery. We will be watching for consumer reaction.

Floor -1: is dedicated to natural cosmetics, parfarmacy and personal hygiene, this time the decoration is reminiscent of a retro-futuristic clinic, mostly in white, with blues, pinks and mirror effects.

 

Floor 1: Here we find much of the differential value of Primor and its magnet product: the beauty "bazaar" with all kinds of products and gadgets at good prices. In its stores, this area is usually the busiest and attracts a younger public than its competitors. The design of the area in this store is spectacular, with metal furniture and striking lighting that puts the focus on the product.

On this floor you will also find the most affordable brands of perfumery, cosmetics and makeup. In the case of makeup with its own decorative "skin" as a bubbly pink ceiling.

 

In addition, there are three shop-in-shops or themed rooms: one for pets, from the Hu brand, another for children, from the El Pequeño Piloto brand and, finally, a fuchsia mirror room, for Primor's usual brands of all kinds of accessories and gifts (You are the princess, Joys, Oh my hair...). Given the success of the beauty bazaar for gifts and self-gifts, Primor's strategy is to offer many more attractive products at affordable prices and with a distinctive design.

Our opinión

Primor accustomed us to flashy and colorful store designs far from the elegance or femininity conveyed by other perfumery chains. This more accessible design was a first differentiating element along with competitive prices.

In addition, it has always played the impulse card very well, with an almost infinite range of tempting products at low prices, which generates high traffic that allows it to bet on volume rather than exclusivity.

This new flagship store elevates these two features: on the one hand, it increases the impulse families with higher average-priced product categories, probably to increase the value of the shopping basket, and on the other, it refines its store design, which remains eye-catching but much more streamlined. This new design allows it to gain credibility in selective perfumery - appearing more aspirational - and to improve the emotional shopping experience throughout the store.