Topshop Opens in John Lewis in Bid to Regain UK Clothing Appeal

Topshop and Topman clothing is set to go on sale at John Lewis Partnership Plc on Tuesday, marking the brands’ first large-scale appearance on British high streets in five years.

The labels will be sold across 32 John Lewis department stores for Topshop and seven for Topman, according to a statement. The clothing has been available online via Asos Plc, which bought the brands out of administration in 2021 for £295 million ($402 million) following the collapse of Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia Group.

Topshop was a huge success under Green in the 2000s, with stores in more than 30 countries and collaborations with high-profile celebrities including Kate Moss. But it struggled to compete with faster, cheaper rivals including Zara and H&M, and collapsed in 2020 during the Covid pandemic.

Asos has been working on a complex turnaround plan under Chief executive officer Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte. The company sold a 75 percent stake in the Topshop and Topman brands to Denmark’s Holch Povlsen family, the owner of retailing group Bestseller A/S, for £135 million in 2024 — a move seen as paving the way for their potential return to high streets in the UK.

The brands’ clothing is sold in Nordstrom department stores in the US. Last year, it became available at the independent luxury department store Liberty London, following a Topshop relaunch event that featured a catwalk in Trafalgar Square with model Cara Delevingne.

John Lewis, too, has been looking to freshen its appeal under Chairman Jason Tarry and Managing Director Peter Ruis. The employee-owned retailer, which reported widening losses in September, is under pressure from Marks & Spencer Group Plc and Next Plc after both increased their range of third-party brands.

By Katie Linsell

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