Ranking: The top 15 most productive UK fashion retailers

Online efficiencies

Without the cost burden of physical stores, it’s no surprise that online fashion retailers dominate this productivity ranking, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to an excellent performance. 

The list is topped by Asos, which has been on a huge productivity drive since boss José Antonio Ramos Calamonte took over in 2022. In November that year, shortly after coming into the role, the chief executive decided to axe over 100 jobs – the majority of which were based in its London head office. A year later, Asos’ outlet department was shuttered, shedding 15 roles. 

Despite being the most productive retailer in the fashion sector, it’s not been enough to turn the retailer’s fortunes around yet, posting a sales decline of 18% in the 26 weeks to March 3, 2024, while adjusted group revenue fell year-on-year from £1.83bn to £1.5bn.

With a headcount of around 145, flash sale sit BrandAlley also ranks highly for productivity; however, it has seen sales struggle, too. Group sales tumbled 20% to £81.8m in FY2022 and it posted a pre-tax loss of £2m. 

Redundancies have been common among the ecommerce players, with Zalando and Boohoo also making job cuts during the financial year under the microscope, likely contributing to their strong productivity scores. 

But when we look at the online players in isolation, Boohoo’s score is considerably lower than its fellow ecommerce retailers. The fast-fashion brand’s headcount for 2022 totalled 6,190, almost double that of Asos’ 3,352, suggesting we may see changes in this area as it seeks to become more agile.

It’s not until third place do we start to see positive sales growth for the productive fashion retailers, following a year of decline, discount online retailer M&M direct recorded an 11.5% increase in turnover for the year to 30 July 2023 – aided by shoppers seeking out bargains during the cost of living crisis.

Changing lanes

Fellow value player Primark also features, perhaps surprisingly, among the most productive despite its business being weighted to physical stores. 

Despite remaining loyal to bricks and mortar, Primark first made its move into multichannel retailing in 2022 with the launch of its click-and-collect trial in a bid to offer more products, to more customers, more often.

The trial, which started in just 25 stores across the North West but has now expanded to all stores across England, Wales and Scotland, has allowed Primark to offer a wider range of products to all customers, even if their local store is not one of its larger premises.

It’s been a soaring success story for Primark, which has seen strong online baskets and attachment baskets as a result of the trial, giving the retailer the scope to fulfill existing consumer needs while simultaneously acquiring new ones.

It’s not the only fashion retailer on the list that’s expanding multichannel. Sosandar, which currently sells premium womenswear through its website, app and third-party retailer partners like Next and M&S, said it had made “substantial progress” on its plans to open physical stores.

The retailer told markets that it had identified several shops in “top-tier locations” at various stages of progression, including some now reaching the latter stages, so we can expect to see a drop in its productivity level over the coming years as it takes on the cost burden of physical stores. 

Productivity vs flexibility

Frasers Group has been on an upward trajectory for several years, but it was acquisitions that have driven growth in the period analysed here, most notably Gieves & Hawkes, Missguided and I Saw It First. 

The company’s ascent up the productivity ranks compared to the previous year coincides with its heightened focus on engaging with its workforce and advancing its elevation strategy to modernise its portfolio.

2023 marked the first year of its staff engagement survey, which will produce an annual score that allows the board to monitor and assess the group culture. When it announced its last set of results, chief executive Mike Murray said: “We believe regular and transparent communication with our teams is essential. This year we have launched several new initiatives, including quarterly ‘CEO sessions’ where staff from across the business have the opportunity to come together and discuss the vision, whilst we hear and learn from our teams on the frontline.”

The group has since made the decision to axe its flexible working policy on Fridays, which allowed staff to stay home for the final day of the working week, saying: “We are at our best when we work together in an office environment” – a statement prompted by a leaked memo in the press that suggested senior management felt Fridays had become unproductive.

“In-person collaboration is key to how we deliver value together,” Frasers added.

But it’s a fine balancing act and many retailers which have embraced flexible working policies are also reaping the benefits in the productivity stakes.

When we look at the most productive retailers across retail in general, most do tend to offer hybrid working opportunities for their head office staff.  

Retail Week data and insights director Lisa Byfield-Green says: “Retailers are being supportive with flexible working and staff retention – and therefore, potentially, the productivity that comes with a settled workforce – is going to benefit from these types of policies.”

Research by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, in collaboration with telecoms firm BT, found found employees were 13% more productive when happy.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, from Saïd, and one of the three head researchers, says: “We found that when workers were happier, they worked faster by making more calls per hour and, more importantly, converted more calls to sales. There seems to be considerable room for improvement in the happiness of employees while they are at work. While this is clearly in the interest of workers themselves, our analysis suggests it is also in the interests of their employers.”