Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has appointed Ben Smith, Matalan‘s former chief trading officer, as its Clothing managing director to lead the Tu brand.
Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing
Reporting to chief commercial officer, Rhian Bartlett, Smith brings substantial clothing retail experience to the wide-ranging Tu brand.
He joined Matalan in March 2023 as interim buying and merchandising director before taking up the chief trading officer position just two months later.
Before stepping down in January, he led the company’s transformation, overseeing Commercial Strategies for over £1 billion turnover in Clothing and Home. He has also previously held trading directorship roles at mass fashion brands Pep&Co and Primark.
Smith’s expected to replace to replace Christine Kasoulis, who has been leading the supermarket’s clothing, home, and furniture ops for nearly three years, according to reports.
In a January statement for the Christmas period, Sainsbury’s reported positive trading. In Q3 (16 weeks to 4 January) total sales increased 3.7% and over Christmas they rose 3.8%. However, branded general merchandise and TU clothing saw a 0.1% sales dip, but in the Christmas period this changed to a 3.4% increase.
Clothing sales grew by 2.2%, “outperforming the market and all supermarket competitors, reflecting significant improvements in range and availability”.
