Topshop

1960s–1970s

Topshop started as a brand extension of the department store Peter Robinson in the 1960s and originally sold fashion by young British designers, such as Mary Quant and Stirling Cooper. Peter Robinson was a women's fashion chain that had been acquired by Burton in 1946.[8] Topshop was founded in 1964 as Peter Robinson's Top Shop, a youth brand within the Sheffield branch and also had a large department in the Oxford Street shop. This was high fashion for the "young and different generation" as The Times put it in 1965, and the department stocked garments by names such as Mary Quant and Gerald McCann.[9][10] By 1966, it had a branch in the Peter Robinson store in Norwich.[11]

Peter Robinson's Top Shop buyer Diane Wadey had an eye for young talent and introduced Royal College of Art graduate Jane Whiteside to Jeff Cooper and Ronnie Stirling. The Stirling Cooper brand they created soon had its own sections in Top Shop shops in London and Sheffield, as well as being stocked in Peter Robinson stores in Norwich and Bristol.[12][13] Other brands stocked at Top Shop included Jeff Banks, French Connection and Radley Cooper.[14]

In 1973, parent company Burton Group launched a major expansion of its womenswear division, splitting Top Shop by Peter Robinson into two chains to be known as Peter Robinson and Top Shop. It was announced that while Peter Robinson would target the over 25s market, Top Shop would focus on the age range from 13 to 24, with Ralph Halpern directing the new venture.[15] By 1974, Peter Robinson had been reduced from 22 stores to six, while Top Shop was developing independently (still retaining the one co-branded shop in Oxford Street) and was described as "highly profitable". Its key retail rivals included Miss Selfridge and the Way In boutique arm of Harrods.[16] Within two years, Top Shop had 55 standalone branches, with more to come according to an article in The Times. Fashion editor Prudence Glynn described it as having a: "sharp definition of purpose".[17] It made profits of £1m that year.[18] By 1978, Top Shop accounted for a third of Burton's operating profits.[19]

Also in 1978, Burton embarked on a drive to win a larger share of the men's fashion market in the midst of declining sales of men's tailoring, launching the Topman brand along similar lines to its women's retail arm. It was described by an executive as: "more of a 'brother to Top Shop than a son of Burton'."[20] The following year, Burton announced sales and profits up by 30 per cent in womenswear, with Topman also being cited as highly profitable.[21] By the start of the 1980s, the brand was being referred to as Topshop.[22]

1980s–2010s

In the 1980s, Topshop struggled to maintain its profile as a fashion brand, but by the late 1990s it began undergoing a revival. In 1994, it launched a collection with Red or Dead.[23] It continued to work with designer talent, such as former Clements Ribeiro assistant Markus Lupfer – described in 1999 as "so hot he's practically steaming" – also working with, among others, Hussein Chalayan, Tristan Webber and Tracey Boyd. Typically, such ranges sold out quickly, and attracted column inches in the fashion press.[24][25][26][27]

The brand pioneered online fashion, launching UK's first online fashion store for Topshop [28][29] This turnaround is often credited to the promotion of Jane Shepherdson as brand director.[30] Having begun her career as a buyer, she rose through the ranks at the company. When she took on brand direction, Topshop had an annual profit of £9 million; by 2005 it was making over £100 million annually.[31]

In May 2007, British supermodel Kate Moss, designed her first collection for the brand.[32] The appointment of Moss was announced just before the departure of Shepherdson for Whistles.[30] In the same year, artist Stella Vine designed a limited edition range inspired by her artworks. These included T-shirts,[33] vest tops, and T-shirt dresses,[34] with the labels designed in pink glitter.[35] The Guardian commented that "the fact that the range of T-shirts she has recently designed for TopShop – emblazoned with slogans like Breaking Up With Her Boyfriend – are flying out, speaks volumes for her public support."[36]

Under her tenure, Topshop became a key sponsor of London Fashion Week, sponsoring its Newgen arm that supports emerging British designers from 2002 and the Fashion East initiative – which acts as a bridge between London's fashion colleges and the Newgen scheme – a year later. This sponsorship continues and since 2005 it has been part of the London Fashion Week catwalk schedule.[37]

In December 2012, Philip Green sold a 25% stake in Topshop and Topman to the US-based private equity group Leonard Green and Partners for US$805 million.[38][39] Under the terms of the deal, Arcadia retained Topshop's flagship Oxford Street shop (said to be worth between £400 and £500 million).[40] Green said that the deal would enable Topshop to speed up its expansion, particularly within the US.[40]

In 2014, Beyoncé signed a deal to launch an activewear brand with Topshop. The 50-50 venture was initially called Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd and was scheduled to launch its first dance, fitness and sports ranges in autumn 2015.[41][42] In November 2015, it was revealed that the brand would launch in April 2016.[43] The brand was later revealed to be called Ivy Park.[44]

In 2015, Topshop started collaborating with the online retailer Zalando and began selling their merchandise in their shops. Advertisements featuring model Cara Delevingne were broadcast in Germany, Switzerland and France.[45]

2020s

Administration

Arcadia Group went into administration at 8pm GMT on 30 November 2020.[46][47] All of its physical shops were closed.[48]

On 25 January 2021, ASOS said it was in "exclusive" talks to buy Arcadia's Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands out of administration, though it only wanted the brands, not the shops. A consortium including Next had earlier dropped a bid to buy Topshop and Topman; interest in Arcadia operations had also been expressed by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, a consortium including JD Sports, and online retailer Boohoo.[49]

On 1 February 2021, ASOS announced it had acquired the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands out of administration for £265 million, paying an additional £65 million for current and pre-ordered stock. ASOS will keep 300 employees on as part of the deal but will not keep any of the brand's stores, putting 2,500 jobs at risk.[50][51] In July 2021, it was announced that Nordstrom had acquired an unspecified minority stake in the Topshop Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT businesses from ASOS, with the intention of selling the brands online and instore across North America.[52]

On 5 September 2024, ASOS announced that it sold a 75% stake of Topshop & Topman to the Danish company Bestseller. It was announced that the Topshop & Topman websites would relaunch within 6 months of the deal with Bestseller, as well it was hinted that the brands could return to the high street with stores, the chief executive of ASOS commented "We might open stores. We will consider it for sure but we have no specific agreement to open a certain number".

On 22 July 2025, it was announced that Topshop's products would be available to buy from a physical shop for the first time in five years, at McElhinney's Department Store in Ballybofey, Ireland.[53][54]

Through a national partnership from February 2026, Topshop will be available in 32 John Lewis stores while Topman will be on offer in six.

UK flagship stores

• Oxford Circus, London – The flagship Topshop shop in the UK was 90000 sqft, covered five floors and attracted an average of 28,000 customers each day.[57] In May 2019, Arcadia Group confirmed it planned to close multiple stores,[80][81] including Topshop's flagship store on London's Oxford Street.[82]
• Fifth Avenue, New York City – The Topshop shop, which opened in November 2014, was located opposite Saks Fifth Avenue and comprised 40000 sqft of retail space.[59][83]
• Liverpool One, Liverpool – In 2009, Topshop opened its first Manhattan-style concept shop in the UK at Liverpool One. The site provides 60000 sqft of retail area and includes a Topman, hair salon and two shoe shops alongside the Topshop branch.[84][85]
• Briggate, Leeds – In 2012, a 31000 sqft shop on Briggate opened, becoming the third-largest Topshop in the UK. It is part of the Trinity Leeds shopping development.[86]
• Victoria Square, Belfast – In 2008 Topshop Victoria Square, Belfast opened its doors as one of the largest shops in the new shopping centre development at 40000 sqft; the largest Topshop in Northern Ireland.[87]