Retailers battle for back to school uniform

Supermarkets have been flexing their muscles to gain ground from clothing retailers in the fiercely contested battle for the back-to-school uniform market.

Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda have been fighting for bigger shares of the uniform market left wide open by the demise of Woolworths, which operated the Ladybird brand, and troubles at Adams, which was bought out of administration in February.

Tesco said its sales in the school uniform market had soared 20 per cent this summer compared with last year as customers sought ways to cut back on spending.