Style and value have global appeal

George is taking the core values that drove UK success to overseas markets, says Andrew Moore.

When it comes to looking after your family, true value for money isn’t just something on the minds of UK customers; quality clothing at the most affordable prices is a simple concept that resonates with shoppers the world over.

Helping people save money every day is a central premise of our George UK business. It’s also at the heart of our current global offering through Walmart.

The success of this simple concept in the UK ignites our belief that George could have the chance to flourish in many markets around the world. The brand values already chime with international customers through Walmart stores in seven different countries including Canada and Japan.

At a time when economies in the UK and Europe are on the verge of a double-dip recession, it makes sense that UK brands should be looking for opportunities outside of those markets to extend their global reach in a way that ensures they further leverage their scale and improve their efficiency to pass on even better value to worldwide customers.

The announcement of our first global franchise partners for pilot standalone George stores marks a small step in our journey towards developing George as a brand that we know can help even more people, especially families, to save money and live better.

George at Asda was established in 1990 as the UK’s first supermarket clothing brand. We were set up with a very simple idea – to take stylish, quality clothes at great value to British shoppers, allowing them to pick up the latest fashions and everyday essentials while they did their weekly grocery shop.

This concept has continued to fuel our growth for over two decades – we sell more clothing than any other supermarket and we’re number one for kidswear, selling one in every five items of all childrenswear sold in Great Britain. In fact, almost half of the British population aged 12 to 80 has purchased something from George in the last year – that’s 22.5 million shoppers.

The first of our pilot franchise stores to open this year will be in the Channel Islands and the Middle East, where we are already a well-recognised brand.

The Middle East has a sophisticated retail sector with an array of UK and US high street brands, and shoppers there have high awareness of value and quality.  

We’re extremely pleased to be working with franchise partners who have vast experience in trading successfully with many other global apparel brands.

We’re excited by this challenge and everything that comes with it. We’re building our overseas growth from a solid domestic base but, as we all know, brands must survive and thrive by being truly aware of what their customers really want or they risk withering away. We will remain focused on the delivery of our best attributes – quality, value and style – wherever we take the George brand in the future.

In a year when all eyes across the world will be firmly focused on Great Britain, we’re proud to be part of the charge to help take the best of British around the world. 

• Andrew Moore is executive managing director of George at Asda