Tesco will launch a new-look clothing website in autumn. Will it be enough to take on the might of online leaders such as Asos? And will it be enough to take on value giants such as Primark and George?

It was only a matter of time before Tesco waded back into the online clothing market and it has emerged this week that from autumn Tesco will be strutting its stuff with the best of them.

The online clothing site will be accessed through Tesco.com and initially will consist of its existing lines such as F&F, Cherokee, Elspeth Gibson and its latest offering Connie Fisher’s My Favourite Things.

Tesco debuted online clothing a year ago but quickly made a hasty exit. It was thought at the time that the numbers weren’t adding up and Tesco seemed more focused on ramping up the remainder of its site.

The pause has given Tesco the space it needed to know what will work. While it clearly doesn’t have the fashion credentials of any of the big names such as Topshop, River Island or H&M, it does have the buying power and clout to make a difference.

Tesco commercial director Richard Brasher said the move will mean more customers can have access to its fashion ranges, whether they live near a big Tesco store or not. But he also pointed out that the site will look very different from any of its other online shopping sites.

The new-look site has yet to be revealed and is a bold move for Tesco. The grocer is clearly thinking that it needs to do something special in order to build its fashion credentials.

If Tesco wants to become an online fashion house in the same vein as Asos then it will need to attract brands to sell on its site. And those brands at the moment probably wouldn’t go near Tesco. They don’t want to hurt their status.

But if Tesco can build a new brand – in the same way that it opened in the US with Fresh & Easy – then it could well get those brands flooding in. After all, the clothing sector has plunged through the floor in the past couple of months with the downturn and in a recession, Tesco is a safe bet.

Tesco’s Christmas trading statement revealed it made a good market share gain in clothing, with sales up 5 per cent year on year. And with few of the value players making decent inroads online, it could well steal a march.

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