Facebook campaign calls for Primark in Coleraine

The Facebook campaign, called 'Bring Primark to Coleraine' began in August and already almost 1,000 have signed up to support the call.

The creators of the online campaign said: "We need a Primark store in Coleraine as we must be the only town in Northern Ireland that hasn't got one."

To date, over 900 Facebook "friends" have joined the campaign giving various reasons for calling for Primark to locate in Coleraine including revitalising the town centre and improving the Riverside Regional Centre.

In June 1969, the first Penneys store opened in Mary Street, Dublin. Within a year, four more stores were added – all in the Greater Dublin area.

In 1971, the first large store outside Dublin was opened in Cork and by the end of that year there were 11 more stores in Ireland and one in Northern Ireland.

By 1973, the number of stores had reached 18 in Ireland and Primark began trading in Great Britain with four out-of-town stores.

The following year saw the opening of the first UK High Street stores in Derby and Bristol.

In the next ten years, 18 stores were added in the UK and nine in Ireland, bringing the number of stores in the UK and Ireland to 22 each.

In 2010, there are now 38 branches of Primark in Ireland, 15 in Spain, 141 in the United Kingdom with others in the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany and Belgium.

The Times contacted Primark for a comment on the campaign but at time of going to press, they had not responded.