Asda aims to overtake Primark as UK’s number one clothing retailer

Asda is plotting to overtake Primark as the UK’s largest clothing retailer with a significant new push of its George fashion offer.

The retailer swung to a £600 million loss last year and sales slid by 3.1% in Q1 2025. However, despite the supermarket’s recent struggles and falling market share, George was a bright spot as it delivered like-for-like sales growth of 3.5%.

Last month also saw Asda open its first standalone George concept store for many years at the Crown Point Retail Park in its home city of Leeds.

That marked a new chapter for the retailer, with the space designed to feel more like a high street fashion destination rather than a traditional supermarket offshoot.

The new format Leeds store could serve as a blueprint for the future of George’s bricks-and-mortar strategy, as Asda looks to boost non-food sales by repositioning George as a credible standalone fashion and lifestyle retailer.

The retailer has been actively investing in growing the George brand’s relevance through collaborations with Erica Davies, Billie Faiers, and Yasmin Le Bon - all of whose fashion edits feature in the new concept store, alongside George’s SS25 collections.

Asda Chairman Allan Leighton now believes George can lead a revival of the company, with up to 100 stores planned to be transformed to make George more prominent.

Asda’s ambition to overtake Primark as the UK’s number one clothing retailer, according to The Telegraph, comes in the wake of Primark suffering its first fall in sales since the pandemic at the end of 2024. Its owner, Associated British Foods, also warned of “continued consumer caution in the UK” earlier this year.

If Asda is to usurp Primark’s clothing sales, it must first leapfrog NEXT, which is the second-largest seller of clothes in the UK. However, Asda is reportedly number one on kids’ clothing sales already, so the target to become overall number one is in its sights.