Supermarket chain Asda has surpassed Marks and Spencer to become Britain's largest clothing retailer, according to data from market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres released in August 2004. Asda's George clothing line captured 9.4 percent of the market in the three months through late July, a gain of nearly one-third over the same period the previous year, while Marks and Spencer held steady at 9.1 percent.
The result is a significant setback for Marks and Spencer chief executive Stuart Rose, who has been working to revive the century-old retailer after it fended off a 9.1-billion-pound takeover approach from businessman Philip Green. Shareholders had backed the board's rejection of Green's bid, after which he withdrew.
Rose's turnaround plan includes returning 2.3 billion pounds to shareholders, divesting the company's financial services division, and refocusing on quality clothing for its core female customers aged 35 to 55.
Asda's George brand, with annual turnover of 1.0 billion pounds, is stocked in 240 of the chain's 266 British stores and is also sold through Wal-Mart outlets in Germany, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, and the United States. The brand operates five standalone British shops and sold two million pairs of four-pound jeans last year.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.