In a clear sign of changing consumer priorities, Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing and Asda’s George are emerging as unlikely fashion frontrunners. With household budgets under pressure, shoppers are increasingly turning to affordable, accessible style, and supermarket fashion is stepping up.

Sainsbury’s just reported an 8% increase in Tu Clothing sales for the 16 weeks to 21 June 2025. Growth was led by a 13% rise in womenswear, which the group attributed to "improved design and strong availability". Seasonal demand, paired with warmer spring weather, supported strong performance across its summer assortment, particularly in occasion and holiday-led categories.

This helped deliver its highest market share since 2016, signalling growing consumer trust in Tu’s design and value credentials. Plus, the appointment of ex-Matalan executive Ben Smith as Clothing Managing Director reinforces Sainsbury’s commitment to fashion-led growth.

Meanwhile, Asda’s George range grew 3.5% like-for-like in Q1, despite wider business losses. A new standalone George concept store in Leeds and plans to refit 100 more stores hint at a serious push to rival Primark.

The Shirt Company is a British womenswear label that focuses on high-quality shirts and blouses, combining traditional tailoring with modern design elements. Founded by Donna Middleton in 2010, the brand aims to offer a refined approach to everyday and occasion wear - providing versatile shirting solutions for a variety of settings.

Designed in London and made from carefully selected fabrics, each collection features details such as pin-tucks, frills, and pleats, reflecting a focus on craftsmanship and considered design. It is also committed to sustainability, encouraging women to invest in high-quality wardrobe staples that endure season after season (love this).

In this interview with TheIndustry.fashion, Middleton discusses the inspiration behind The Shirt Company, how customer insights influence her creative direction, the ways she continually reimagines the classic shirt each season, how the brand’s "buy less, buy better" philosophy is reflected in its design and production processes, and expansion plans to mark its 15th anniversary. Check out the interview here.

It seems retail legend George Davies’ fashion legacy at Asda keeps on giving, as it was reported earlier this week that the supermarket is now plotting to overtake Primark as the UK’s largest clothing retailer, with a significant new push of its George ranges.

Davies brought us the first supermarket fashion brand with George at Asda in 1990, and though he’s not been involved with it for some time, it is testament to its foundations and strength that it is once again seen as a major stream of revenue.

Especially given that Asda swung to a £600 million loss last year, with sales sliding 3.1% in Q1 2025. Despite its recent struggles, George was a bright spot, delivering like-for-like sales growth of 3.5%.

To add to that, last month saw Asda open its first standalone George concept store for many years at the Crown Point Retail Park in its home city of Leeds. Confirmation that it means business in the fashion sector.

But should Primark really be shaking in its faux leather boots? Well, it did suffer its first fall in sales since the pandemic at the end of 2024, as well as warning of “continued consumer caution in the UK” earlier this year.

Perhaps Asda smells blood. It is, after all, apparently now the number one in terms of volume of sales of kids’ clothes in the UK, so why not aim to extend that? It must first usurp NEXT, though, currently the overall number two biggest seller of clothing in the UK. It was, of course, one George Davies who launched NEXT on the UK high street in 1982. There’s some irony there somewhere. Anyway, let the high street fashion battle commence!

Well this is depressing. Historic British footwear brand Clarks has been forced to slash 1,200 jobs having taken an almost £100 million hit to its sales, due to what can only be described as general global chaos (I did have another word for that but it wasn't for for a professional business publication).

The only silver lining I can see in all of this is that perhaps the worst is now behind it. Clarks' board says last year's elections in the UK and US, uncertainty around global trade policies, regulatory frameworks and fiscal strategies have all played a part in hitting its performance.

Just as we were all coming up from air after the pandemic, we really have been hit by a tidal wave of challenges that we cannot control, we just have to let the waves crash over us and hope that our heads are still above the surface when they've passed.

Seeing our Chancellor sobbing on the front bench this week suggests to me that there is probably more pain to come, but let's hope we've all (including Clarks) built up enough resilience to get through that and to capitalise on the upturn when it comes.

As depressed as I was with the Clarks news (above), I did find cause for cheer this week with the news that Marks & Spencer (still in recovery from a vicious and deeply damaging cyber attack) is pressing ahead with a £300 million investment in its stores.

Some 16 new stores are to be opened with 300 more sites under consideration for further stores (obviously it won't open in all of them). The ultimate aim is to have 180 full-line stores and 420 food halls in its estate by the end of FY2028.

That CEO Stuart Machin is continuing with his bold shake up and expansion of the business, which includes everything from a levelling up of its fashionability to the elevation of its store experience, is testament to his strength and resilience and also the affection the British public has for this brand.

I'm hoping that when Machin has finished with his M&S project, he'll consider running the country; imagine how much better we'd all feel (and how much better off we would all be) with someone like him in charge?