Supermarkets giant Sainsbury’s may see its grocery offer as its core business but it remains a big force in UK fashion via its Tu line and it wants to grab a bigger chunk of premium sales, as well as the menswear market.

It’s planning to roll out more premium ranges using natural materials such as 100% merino wool, cashmere, linen and leather.

The brand has seen a more than 300% rise in premium styles in the past year despite being best known for the more budget-focused styles in which supermarkets tend to specialise.

It follows the launch last November of a 100% cashmere womenswear collection that was the brand’s biggest premium knitwear launch to date. Prices stared at £65 for the seven pure cashmere pieces with blended merino wool and cashmere styles starting from £40.

The retailer said at the time that it was “a significant milestone in the brand’s fashion direction, introducing elevated fabrics and timeless designs crafted for lasting appeal. Building on the momentum of recent successful launches, such as its summer sell-out suede bag, these garments demonstrate Tu’s commitment to bringing premium quality to more customers”.

Of the more ambitious plan to ramp up the premium offer, still-new clothing MD Ben Smith told The Telegraph this week that the retailer had “stretched up” its fashion ranges.

Importantly, he also said it was focusing on menswear with hopes it can double sales in that category and sees no reason why it shouldn’t be able to achieve that target.

Smith said it has already put initiatives in place and moves such as recently “updating the fits in our chinos” were starting to attract more male customers. 

That’s key as it currently has only a 3% share of the menswear category.

Smith added that the company has been adding a stronger fashion element to its menswear too and is seeing “green shoots” from that.

Tu has been a key success story for Sainsbury’s, just as other supermarkets such as Asda have seen growth in their clothing ops outpacing that in foods.

But the retailer’s ambitions will put it in close competition with some big names such as M&S and Next with both already big in menswear and the former also a key player in the premium sector Sainsbury’s is targeting.