Tesco to launch clothing range

The UK's biggest supermarket chain Tesco is to take on high street fashion retailers with a new clothing range.

Tesco said on Thursday it had clinched a supply deal with US clothing firm Cherokee, paving the way for the launch of a range of "relaxed, casual fashionable clothes" this autumn.

The move continues a growing trend among UK supermarkets, with Tesco's close rivals J Sainsbury and Asda already offering their own fashion designs alongside food at many of their outlets.

Tesco said its new clothing range is designed "to compete head on with High Street retailers such as Gap and Next."

"The new partnership between Tesco and Cherokee is set to change the British fashion market for ever," the company said in a statement.

Tesco has already made inroads into the UK clothing market, importing cut-price premium brand jeans from outside the European Union and selling them at a discount.

However, jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss successfully challenged Tesco's import scheme in court last year.

Tesco shares were 1.25p higher at 264.75p in lunchtime trade.