Uniforms are us says Sainsbury

SAINSBURY'S is to take on Woolworths, Asda and Tesco by launching a range of school uniforms. Britain's second-largest supermarket will put its 'back to school' range on the shelves next week.

It will offer standard school clothing and sportswear, pairing its Jeff & Co label with children's clothing company Adams. Maureen Dunn, a senior manager at Sainsbury's, said: 'We hope the price and quality of the clothes will appeal to customers.'

The Adams range of school clothing is aimed at children between the ages of four and ten. Sainsbury's Jeff & Co Essentials will target those of 11 and above. The clothes will be supplied by BMB, which makes Jeff & Co. Priced similarly to other stores' uniforms, boys' trousers will sell for about £12, and packs of two shirts will go for £7.99. Sainsbury's also plans to expand other parts of its Jeff & Co Essentials range.

Like other food retailers, Sainsbury's wants to diversify into higher-margin areas such as clothing. It appointed former B&Q and M&S executive Keith Evans as non-foods director last month. He is in Asia exploring new sourcing possibilities and is thought to be developing the relationship between Sainsbury's and Li & Fung, the Far East's biggest consumer goods distribution group.

Safeway, which started selling DVD players and videos from lorries parked at selected stores in February, is expanding the scheme. A spokeswoman said: 'We're going all over the country with this - any place where the car park is large enough and where the stores haven't got enough room to carry the bigger electrical items and range of garden and home goods. It has been a great success.'