Sainsbury’s clothing sales grow in H1 driven by summer uptick

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has welcomed modest growth for its clothing brand Tu, despite general merchandise and clothing sales declining 1.5 percent in the first half of the current financial year.

In the 28 weeks ended 14 September 2024, the retailer’s Tu Clothing range welcomed a 1.3 percent increase in sales, benefitting from a stronger Q2 sales growth of 8.3 percent and reflecting an uptick in demand for womenswear over the summer, for which sales grew 10 percent.

Sainsbury’s also cited improvements in availability and style as drivers of market share gains for its clothing, with the current autumn/winter season also already reporting strong demand and “performing significantly ahead of last year”.

Elsewhere, Sainsbury’s general sales, excluding fuel, rose 4.6 percent, while like-for-like sales were up 3.4 percent.

In a statement, chief executive, Simon Roberts, said the company’s food business was going from “strength to strength”, with grocery volume growth delivering a “strong profit leverage” that was only partially offset by a “tough first quarter at Argos”.

For the full year, Sainsbury’s is anticipated to deliver retail underlying profit of between 1.010 million and 1.060 million pounds, at a growth of between 5 and 10 percent.