Woolworths to expand casual clothing and sports leisurewear ranges

Retail 3 March 2021

South African retailer Woolworths announced that it will be expanding its casual and sports leisurewear ranges to reduce reliance on formal wear.

This comes after the company reported a rise in half-year profit for the first time since 2015.

The company aims to look at the strong demand for casual and sportswear as the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a shift to working from home.

"There's clearly a need for us to be more relevant in both style and trend but we're not aspiring to be a high fashion or fast fashion business," Manie Maritz, managing director of the group's fashion, beauty and home business in South Africa, said in a statement.

The company also noted that its Studio.W and Wcollection will be coming to an end, however, to make up for this, the company will add selective third-party brands to its other private-label brands.

Woolworths, which also operates in Australia and New Zealand, announced in September a strategic review of its fashion business in its home business, which the firm says has been plagued by poor execution of fashion ranges and a lack of understanding of its customers.

"This approach resulted in customers that were confused or felt that our proposition did not resonate and consequently left the brand," Maritz added.

To fix this, Woolworths launched a more extensive sports leisurewear range in 18 stores this month and is adding more casual wear ranges in womenswear and menswear.

Written by: Staff Writer.

Guzzle Media