Sainsbury’s in consultation with Tu clothing staff ahead of restructuring

A source close to Sainsbury’s said the grocery giant has “started a conversation” with the Tu clothing team “about what the right structure for the business is more broadly”, adding that the retailer is “looking at creating some roles and removing some others”.

“Sainsbury’s has started speaking to some of the teams across the business, looking at where the colleagues are spending their time, what sort of tasks they’re doing, whether there is any duplication in effort or overlaps,” they added.

Retail Week understands these talks began last week and could continue for several weeks as affected roles are placed in consultation.

The source close said while jobs at Tu would be affected, the changes were part of the wider restructuring of the business announced in February. 

As was reported at the time, the grocer drew up plans to restructure its core business and Argos, putting as many as 300 jobs at risk in a bid to slash £1bn in costs over the next three years.

A spokesperson for the retailer told Retail Week: “As we move into the final year of our Next Level Strategy, we are looking at the shape of our clothing team to ensure our focus is on what matters most to our customers. 

“While we will regrettably lose some roles as part of this process, we expect to see many created as well.”

It comes on the day Sainsbury’s said that it had “outperformed the market” for six years in a row as it reported rising sales.

Retail sales excluding fuel rose 4.9% to £25.9bn across the group in the 52 weeks to February 28.

Underlying profit before tax grew to £718m, growing 1.3% year on year, while group revenue grew 2.7% to £33.6m. Retail underlying operating profit fell 1.1%.

Tu clothing sales were up 4.8% during the period, with a “very strong spring/summer offset by unseasonal second-half weather”. Sainsbury’s said it had outperformed the clothing market for seven quarters, with online sales growth of more than 20%.