‘Genius’ Irish woman pretends to work at Primark so she can shop there

We have to give her credit for the creativity here.

Retail giant Penneys opened last week on an appointment-only basis, with many around the country rushing to secure a highly-coveted shopping slot. However, due to demand, the appointments have proven difficult to secure, with reports that some bookings have been sold for a whopping €100 online. Now, one Irish woman has found a pretty creative way to shop in Penneys, minus the appointment.

@r_ellis4##fyp ##viral ##banterranter ♬ original sound - BanterRanter___?

TikTok user @r_ellis4 took to the platform to reveal in a video which has since been viewed over 165,000 times, that she had managed to secure a Penneys uniform, using it to access the store ahead of the full reopening on 17 May. She said: "Right so I'm in a real big hurry because I'm actually on my way to Penneys and I didn't get a Penneys appointment, but, I'm after getting my hands on this top. "I'm going to pretend I'm going to work and just walk past. Wish me luck everybody, fingers crossed." The video then shows the woman walk into the store in her Penneys top, before zipping up her jacket, and continuing to fill her basket and complete her haul, leaving the store with a massive brown bag. "I am buzzing, can you tell how happy I am with my Penneys bag? And that's how it's done, guys," she concluded. People quickly flooded the woman's comment section to praise her on the hilarious video, with one TikTok user calling her a "genius" and many asking for a "loan" of the Penneys top. However, we wouldn't recommend trying this one out for yourself! Penneys is encouraging customers to book through its website only as a spokesperson said that any cancelled slots will go back up on its system. "We are delighted at how popular our shopping by appointment bookings this week have proven with over 250,000 appointments made so far," a Penneys spokesperson said in a statement to JOE on Wednesday. "While most of our larger stores are now fully booked, any cancelled slots will go back up on the system. We recommend that customers book their appointments through our website directly which we know is the case for the vast majority of bookings." The spokesperson added that all Irish stores will open from next Monday with extended hours in place in each one, so if you didn't get an appointment, there's no need to panic. "It’s been wonderful to be able to welcome so many customers back this week, and for those who missed out on a slot, they won’t have too much longer to wait as all Irish stores will be open to everyone from next Monday with extended hours in each one." Penneys is set to reopen fully from Monday, 17 May, in line with government public health guidelines.