Ben Smith is set to take over the leadership of Sainsbury’s Tu clothing brand, reporting directly to Chief Commercial Officer, Rhian Bartlett. Smith brings a wealth of experience in the clothing retail sector to the role, which spans across the wide-reaching Tu brand.
Smith joined Matalan in March 2023 as the interim buying and merchandising director and quickly advanced to the position of chief trading officer just two months later. Before stepping down in January, he played a key role in leading the company’s transformation, managing commercial strategies for over £1 billion in turnover from Clothing and Home. Smith has also held trading directorships at major fashion brands such as Pep&Co and Primark.
He is expected to succeed Christine Kasoulis, who has headed Sainsbury’s clothing, home, and furniture operations for almost three years.
In a statement released in January for the Christmas period, Sainsbury’s reported positive trading results. For Q3 (the 16 weeks leading to January 4), total sales grew by 3.7%, with a 3.8% increase during the Christmas period. However, branded general merchandise and Tu clothing saw a slight 0.1% sales decline, though this reversed to a 3.4% rise over Christmas. Clothing sales increased by 2.2%, outperforming the market and its supermarket competitors, due to notable improvements in product range and availability.
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