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Value supermarket giant Asda continued to grow its total revenues, like-for-like sales and margins in Q1, with the improvements helped by a “particularly strong contribution” from its George at Asda fashion and lifestyle brand.
So much so, that the retailer said it had “outperformed the fashion and homewares markets during the quarter”.
The brand has also been relaunching its adult denim range, with an 8% rise in sales compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the collaboration with TV personality Billie Faiers across women’s, kids and babywear — as well the relaunch of its trend-led sub-brand G21, supported by influencer Sophie Piper — in March “also proved popular with customers”, the retailer said without giving supporting numbers.
In homewares, sales rose 11.7% having been boosted by the launch of the brand’s new Stacey Solomon Spring/Summer collection with the debut of a new 127-piece range featuring products for the whole home and a separate 41-piece collection dedicated solely to children’s interiors.
Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, said: “George at Asda again outperformed the value market in fashion and homewares, and it is very encouraging to see our investment in the brand bearing fruit both online and in stores.”
CFO Michael Gleeson added: “It was pleasing to see our investment in further enhancing the quality of… George at Asda resonate so strongly with customers.”
Across the wider business, first-quarter total revenues, excluding fuel, increased 6.6% to £5.3 billion, with a 1.4% growth in like-for-like sales.
George beats the market to deliver strong uplift in fashion sales online and in stores
• George at Asda is the UK’s third-largest fashion retailer by sales volume, ahead of supermarket peers
• Womens, mens, kids and schoolwear all performed ahead of the market, both by sales value and volumes, according to widely-followed Kantar data over 24 weeks to March
• Women’s growth driven across several divisions: footwear, accessories and nightwear
• George continues to strengthen market-leading position in schoolwear with the category delivering double digit growth
• Outperformance reflects investment and repositioning of clothing and home brand
George at Asda has today announced soaring growth in online and instore fashion sales over the sector’s latest six month-period, significantly outperforming the market and cementing its position as one of the UK’s largest and most successful fashion retailers.
The strong performance of the brand – the third-largest fashion retailer by sales volume in the UK, ahead of high street and supermarket peers – reflects George’s ongoing focus on style, quality and value while enabling busy customers to shop how and when they want.
George grew online fashion sales by value by 13.4% over the 24 weeks to 3rd March 2024, according to Kantar – representing a huge outperformance to a 2.1% increase across the wider market.
Liz Evans, Managing Director of George, said: “Our mission is to deliver great quality and style at a brilliant price across our George clothing and homeware ranges and it’s great to see it’s working for our customers. Demand and growth in the last 6-month period is reflective of the investment into our teams, product and channels as we reinvigorate our brand and focus on understanding what our customers need and value.”
George also outperformed the fashion market in Asda’s stores. Its fashion sales by value in store rose by 5% over the 24 weeks, compared with 0.7% across the market. George’s in-store fashion sales volumes growth of 1.1% streaked ahead of a sharp 5.5% fall across the sector.
Liz Evans added: “As we continue to reinvigorate our retail proposition and build customer-centric destinations, our outperformance to the market demonstrates the growth potential George has. Early sales indications from our Spring collections suggest George will continue to win in womens and menswear whilst maintaining its position as the UK’s third-largest apparel retailer by sales volume.”
The George Home business continues to grow with the exclusive Stacey Solomon range and online being key drivers. Divisions driving the growth are home textiles, home fragrance and electrical appliances