Topshop to make high street return through wholesale retail partners

Topshop is preparing to make a comeback on the high street through new wholesale partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers.

Owner Asos said it had signed agreements with select wholesale partners to bring the brand back into physical retail, but that it was first focused on relaunching a standalone website for Topshop.

The online fashion giant’s chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte said the retailer had spent “two years rebuilding the product assortment of Topshop” before moving ahead with relaunch plans.

“The first step of this comeback is topshop.com,” he said, confirming the standalone site will launch in the second half of this fiscal year.

Calamonte said Topshop’s physical retail return will see the brand open shop-in-shops in specific retail outlets, adding: “I’m not talking about a standalone store. We haven’t ruled out anything. Of course not”.

However, a spokesperson later clarified that Topshop’s return to physical retail will come via traditional wholesale arrangements rather than branded shop-in-shop concessions.

The move follows a string of cryptic teasers posted to Topshop’s Instagram in recent weeks, which hinted at a possible return to stores this summer.

Asos bought Topshop, along with Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT, out of administration in 2021 for £295m.

Last year, it then sold a 75% stake in the Topshop and Topman brands to Bestseller forming a joint venture aimed at unlocking new growth opportunities.

“We are listening to our consumers,” Calamonte added. “We understand that they want Topshop to have a level of its own.”

Further details on the physical rollout are expected in the coming months.

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