In its second exclusive agreement with George Asda, PDS is set to extend its footprint across new territories under the banner of Collective Near East Sourcing Services ("CSS Near East") within PDS, marking a significant milestone in their strategic alliance.
This collaboration follows the two entities' partnership in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where PDS established dedicated operations catering to similar categories sourced from Bangladesh and India back in 2022.
Sanjay Jain, Group CEO of PDS commented on the expansion and said: “After a successful partnership with George and CSS over 18 months, we are expanding our service offerings into new territories. This expanded partnership has fortified our confidence in our longstanding alliance, as the George and PDS teams work together to deliver superior merchandise backed by our expertise in global fashion trends.”
Pallak Seth, executive vice chairman of PDS added: “We are highly confident that Collective Near East will prove beneficial for both our colleagues and suppliers associating with PDS. Our vision is to establish a forward-thinking, proactive, and world-class transparent sourcing service, seamlessly integrating with George’s objectives and ethos.”
'George', launched in 1989, has evolved into a mass-market fashion label in the UK, with a presence in over 560 stores and its online platform.
At the time Asda attributed the decline to the “unseasonal weather” across the period which impacted the sale of seasonal ranges.
At the time, GlobalData retail analyst, Joe Dawson cautioned that Asda’s focus on the development of high-quality and good-value own-brand products must be stepped up if it is to compete with retailers that have already established similar ranges.
He shared it was important that the retailer does not lose focus of the core business going into the golden quarter and must seek to improve its shopkeeping to avoid losing out on sales due to “poor availability” and “lack of range.”
