Sainsbury's appoints Mary Portas' agency to revive clothing and GM offer

Supermarket Sainsbury's has hired retail guru Mary Portas' agency to revive is clothing and general merchandise offer.

Portas Agency won the general merchandise advertising contract in a four-way pitch and was tasked with turning Tu, which is currently the UK's sixth largest fashion retailer, into a "destination brand for high street fashion". The supermarket also intends to launch a new Sainsbury's Home brand, which will encompass all of its existing homeware collections.

"The work produced by Portas during the pitch process was very much in line with this strategy and it was great to see a refreshing new take on our fashion and home communications," Sainsbury's director of marketing planning and propositions Mark Given told marketing publication The Drum.

In its last set of results Sainsbury's said it had enjoyed an "exceptional" 10% growth from the Tu brand and is now selling more children's clothing by volume than Marks & Spencer.

Portas Agency's work will begin with a new summer campaign for Tu to run across print, digital, in-store and social channels.

The central London agency, founded by Portas who initially made her name at Harvey Nichols and now maintains a successful broadcasting career alongside her agency, works with a number of major retail brands including Westfield shopping malls, Clark's, Habitat and Moss Bros.