Topshop, the British multinational fashion retailer of clothing, shoes, make-up and accessories, will set foot in Shanghai. The Arcadia-owned labels’ first Chinese flagship store will be on Huaihai Middle Road in the country’s premier shopping city and will cover a 3,400 sq m space over three floors. Work has already started on the premises with the store expected to open this September.
The brand is only directly available via its webstore in mainland China at the moment, although it has been sold in the Galeries Lafayette department store in Beijing and it has two Hong Kong stores. This move into mainland China makes it a relatively latecomer to the country and is way behind some of its biggest fast fashion rivals in entering what is potentially the world’s biggest fashion market.
Definite news of its Shanghai opening comes after it said in late 2016 that it had signed a deal with e-tail giant Shangpin.com to open physical stores in China. The brand did not fare well in its international business last year, some of which including the failure of its franchised Australia and New Zealand operations and also its closure of its Spanish store.
Key takeaways are that it’s important to get the product right for the market rather than just depend on the power of the brand name to help you sail through. Opening in China makes good commercial sense. Last year an AT Kearney report had said the country was second only to India in terms of retail investment due to the sheer size of its consumer market that makes it highly attractive to international businesses. Topshop has around 500 shops worldwide – of which some 300 are in the UK.
