Primark: Developing an adaptive underwear range

Primark: Developing an adaptive underwear range

About Primark 

Primark is a multinational fast fashion retailer with outlets across the world. Primark was founded with the ambition of making fashion more affordable for everyone, and that means representing and responding to the different needs of all their customers, including those with disabilities. 

The challenge 

Primark noted several problems faced by disabled people when accessing adaptive clothing. Through research, they learned that three in five disabled shoppers find it difficult to find clothes that they feel happy and comfortable in. Their research showed that affordability and accessibility were key barriers for disabled people as more than a third found adaptive clothing very expensive. In addition, people reported that adaptive clothing was only available online meaning they couldn’t see or feel the products before purchasing them.  

The project 

Primark wanted to make adaptive fashion more fun, accessible, and affordable and created an adaptive lingerie collection, an example of Primark’s commitment to supporting and empowering women, making specialised and innovative products affordable and accessible to as many women as possible.  

The four-piece underwear range includes a seam-free bra, a lace bralette, a basic brief and a pair of period pants. These items considered a wide range of needs and are competitively priced between £8 and £10 to ensure they are more affordable and accessible for those who need them.  

The teams at Primark spent two years developing these products, working with technical specialists, and seeking feedback from disabled colleagues and customers at every point in the production process.  

They engaged with experts including Dr Shani Dhanda to help them think through the way that they marketed the product to reach the disabled community. They held a masterclass for their social media, fashion comms and digital teams to improve their social media accessibility. 

In preparation for the launch, Primark considered many aspects of the customer experience including positioning in store, placement of point-of-sale advertising and which stores would be most suitable to stock the products. 

They made changes to their Click + Collect process, adding a message to all orders inviting disabled customers to ask for a Click + Collect colleague when they visit a store to collect their package. They also introduced a new process whereby a colleague will offer to bring the customer’s package directly to them if they require assistance, and they held briefings with all Click + Collect stores to inform them of the changes. 

The result 

Since launching their adaptive underwear range, Primark has been delighted by the response from customers and colleagues. People have commented postively not only on the products, but on the campaign and the way that it helps to raise awareness on specific disabilities. Social media posts have had very high engagement, and the comments indicate that this campaign, the products and Primark’s work with models with different disabilities is appealing to and benefiting more than their intended audience.  

Going forward  

Primark realise that accessibility goes far beyond these products and strive to continue to push themselves to go further and faster to make a bigger impact.  

Alongside the new adaptive lingerie collection, Primark plan to review their stores and operations to look at ways they can provide a better service and more welcoming experience for disabled customers and colleagues.  

Primark plan to carry out a detailed survey of their store and office environments. They will be guided by their expert partners including Business Disability Forum. 

If you require this content in a different format, contact enquiries@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk.