Tesco Direct suspends sale of womens fashion lines
Tesco has halted the sale of clothing online less than six months after it was the first UK supermarket to launch the service.
The retailer had previously said that it planned to sell 300 lines from its women’s clothing range through Tesco Direct (MW October 4, 2007).
A Tesco spokeswoman says: “We did a trial to sell clothes online starting in November, which I can confirm has ended. We are reviewing the results of that trial and will then decide an outcome based on that.”
She denies that the end of the trial means that the activity proved to be “unsuccessful”. It is thought the retailer may consider the launch of a standalone fashion website.
A message on the Tesco Direct website, which received a major promotional push over the Easter weekend, says: “Thank you for visiting Tesco clothing online. We have listened to your feedback and will be trying to improve our offer based on this. Check back here for more news soon.”
The move follows the news that the retailer is launching made-to-order furniture online to compete with retailers such as DFS and Ikea.
Tesco Direct, its non-food catalogue and online business, was launched two years ago. The website sells more than 10,000 items from phones to baby products and cars.
Tesco’s results for the 2007 Christmas period – six weeks to January 5 – showed its non-food sales through Tesco.com and Tesco Direct in the UK rose 24% to £190m.
