Penney’s is an Irish success story, so it’s understandable that the producers of a new documentary about the fast fashion chain would want to paint it in a positive light. But while there are positives, there are also bulges, a zone into which the remarkable but calorie-starved Inside Penneys (RTÉ One, 8.30pm) often wanders.
In that respect, this is part of a broader trend in factual television. Your favorite streaming service is full of megastar David’s “official” valentines to his Beckhams and Ed Sheeran. Now RTÉ is giving us a homegrown equivalent with a starry-eyed love letter to the popular retailer, painting a rosy portrait while avoiding anything resembling difficult questions. Masu.
Irish people have a long-standing attachment to the company, which was founded in 1969 by the indefatigable Arthur Ryan and became an international behemoth trading as Primark.
Irish companies winning the world is not something to be laughed at. What’s more, it’s very reassuring to discover that it has stayed true to its roots by intentionally locating its headquarters above a store in central Dublin.
These headquarters are the heart of the company. Introducing John McCormack, who holds the Zoolander-esque title of head of future trends in women’s wear. It’s always inspiring to see Irish people working in globally important jobs. Especially if the position is in Ireland.
Still, there are moments when the tone at Penny’s sounds like Kendall Roy pitching a startup in Succession. “We used to say our job was to connect the dots, and now our job is to find the dots,” the group said.
McCormack is likeable and has a lively personality. But elsewhere, Inside Penneys is less than stellar. In Dundrum, a store development director looks over a half-completed store site. Meanwhile, in Cork, sales director Damian O’Neill laments the small size of the St Patrick Street site, which prevents Penney’s from offering customers “concessions such as a nail bar”. How dosu dosu and ho hum.
In the end, the question isn’t what a movie includes, but what it leaves out. Primark has been accused of contributing to the growth of an environmentally unsustainable fast fashion sector. Environmental news and data platform Earth.org said last year that the company was guilty of “facilitating overconsumption and contributing significantly to significant environmental burdens.”
It has also been criticized for its ties to unethical third-world manufacturers. In 2008, Primark severed ties with three Indian clothing suppliers that were found to be subcontracting work to child workers. There is no suggestion that anyone appearing on Inside Penneys is involved in such activities. But these controversies are part of Penny’s story and should have been mentioned, if only in passing, in the first of six episodes. What you end up with on screen is a puff piece you can see, but a puff piece nonetheless.