Bosses Pledge To Topshop Store As U.K. Fashion Icon Plots Return

Forbes

2 days ago

After four years away, a Topshop store could be back on main street by August as the famous U.K. fashion retailer plans a return to bricks and mortar.
The once hugely successful fashion brand, which was founded in 1964, had more than 500 stores across the world at the peak of its fame and was one of the most prominent names on the British high street.
Topshop was one of the powerhouses of the global apparel world in the late 1990s and early 2000s and was the flagship of Sir Philip Green's all-encompassing Arcadia empire, with stores worldwide including on Fifth Avenue, New York.
The company's global flagship on the junction of Regent Street and Oxford Street in the heart of London's West End was a huge draw for shoppers of all ages and Topshop became the queen of cheap chic. Its iconic flagship was recently reopened as an urban IKEA store by the Swedish giant.
However, since its stores closed in 2021, the retailer has focused on selling its apparel via the likes of online retailer Asos and through pop-ups. In September last year, Asos sold a 75% stake in Topshop and Topman to the Heartland, an arm of Bestseller.
Asos sold the majority stake in the business for $178 million to the Danish fashion business controlled by the major Asos shareholder Anders Povlsen, who already owns popular European retail brands including Jack & Jones and Vero Moda via his Bestseller business.
The deal helped it repay debts and at the time there were rumors that the deal could see the brand return to the high stree. Asos acquired Topshop with other brands just over three years prior for nearly $435 million.
Last month, Topshop hosted a pop-up event at Defected Records in East London, which drew in huge crowds and bosses have now said that the overwhelming reaction from the public has led to discussions about the brand's future.
Speaking to Drapers about future plans for physical stores, Topshop managing director Michelle Wilson said that it was something that the company had been working on 'all the time' and confirmed that the retailer will have a permanent store presence 'at some point'.
Wilson said: 'In the shorter term that will be something with partner support and in the longer term we will do something standalone.'
She added that the return of Topshop will begin through working with wholesale partnerships from this August, before relaunching standalone stores.
Much of the excitement surrounding the relaunch has been shaped by the brand's own social media. 'We promised on socials that we would be there in August,' said Wilson. 'We have something planned in August to bring Topshop back into real life again, with a more semi-permanent presence than the one-day pop-up.'
Wilson was appointed managing director of the apparel brands Topshop and Topman in February, along with Moses Rashid, founder of sneaker resale site The Edit Ldn, who became global marketing director.
First part of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group, the Topshop and Topman brands were snapped up in 2021 by Asos, alongside Miss Selfridge, after Topshop fell into administration in late 2020 as part of the collapse of Green's retail group as the disgraced former retail guru saw his business empire fall apart.
Asos retained a 22.5% stake and its Topshop partner, the Seattle-based department store group Nordstrom, which owns just over 2% of the business, with Heartland controlling the remainder.
Heartland is an investment and holding company representing the interests of the Holch Povlsen family, and their family business Bestseller, and it completed the deal through its subsidiary Aktieslskabet, pledging to look at the viability of a Topshop store.