Topman

Last updated

Topman
Company type Subsidiary
IndustryFashion
Clothing
Textiles
GenreRetail
Founded1978;46 years ago (1978) [1]
Defunct2021
FateConverted into an online store
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
ProductsMen's fashion
RevenueIncrease2.svg £1.8 billion[ citation needed ]
Decrease2.svg £357.5 million[ citation needed ]
Owner ASOS
Website asos.com/topman

Topman is a UK-based multinational men's fashion retail brand founded by Burton Group (later renamed Arcadia Group) in 1978. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration in late 2020. All high street stores subsequently closed and the brand was purchased by ASOS on 1 February 2021, relaunching as an online-only retailer. [2]

Contents

Suits for hooligans controversy

In 2001, Topman's brand director, David Shepherd, was considered to have "done a Ratner" when he referred to his core clientele as "Football hooligans or whatever" and said that "Very few of our customers have to wear suits to work. They'll be for his first interview or court case". [3]

Arcadia Group financial problems

In May 2019, the BBC and The Wall Street Journal both reported that, after its parent company Arcadia Group filed for bankruptcy, Topshop would close all 11 of its U.S. stores, including Topman. Apparel would be distributed digitally and through other wholesale partners, such as Nordstrom. [4]

Administration

In the UK, Arcadia Group went into administration at 8pm GMT on 30 November 2020. [5] [6] 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. [7]

On 1 February 2021, ASOS announced it had acquired the four Arcadia 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 brands' 70 stores, putting 2,500 jobs at risk. [8] [9] They plan to relaunch in May 2021.

Products

Topman SouthGate, Bath Topmanbath.jpg
Topman SouthGate, Bath

Topman was nominated for the 'Menswear Design of the Year' award by the British Fashion Council, winner of 'Best Fashion Retailer' at the Maxim Style Awards for 2005 and winner of 'Best High Street Retailer' at the 2007 FHM Fashion and Grooming awards. [10]

In 2008, Topman collaborated with new label The Look Presents, the creation of rock-fashion author Paul Gorman and Soho boutique owner, Max Karie, to launch 'the Look Presents'. [11]

In 2011, Topman worked closely with Teenage Cancer Trust. The company worked in collaboration with children from the charity to produce a range of sunglasses designed by them whilst supporting the 'Rock your Shades' campaign in May 2011. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debenhams</span> Defunct British department store chain, 1778–2021

Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland, and is still operating as a franchise in seven Middle East countries. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish department store chain Magasin du Nord. In its final years, its headquarters were within the premises of its flagship store in Oxford Street, London. The range of goods sold included middle-to-high-end clothing, beauty, household items, and furniture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next plc</span> British retailer

Next plc (styled as NEXT) is a British multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer, which has its headquarters in Enderby, England. It has around 700 stores, of which circa 500 are in the United Kingdom, and circa 200 across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Next is the largest clothing retailer by sales in the United Kingdom, having overtaken Marks & Spencer in early 2012 and 2014. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Green</span> British businessman (born 1952)

Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. In May 2023, his net worth was estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to be £910 million.

TOPSHOP is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS on 1 February 2021. It now operates via the ASOS website and app, as well as being sold in Nordstrom stores in the US on Nordstrom.com. TOPSHOP previously had around 510 shops worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baugur Group</span>

Baugur Group was an Icelandic investment company. The group began as a supermarket and general retail company in Iceland, before diversifying to own a number of businesses at its peak, primarily in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Home Stores</span> Former British department store chain

British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, was a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to expand into furniture, electronics, entertainment, convenience groceries and fragrance and beauty products.

Faith was a British shoe retailer founded in 1964 by London accountant Samuel Faith and his wife. In the following years new stores were gradually added, primarily in the South of England. After Samuel's retirement, his son Jonathan acquired the family business which he subsequently sold to Bridgepoint Capital in December 2004 for £65 million.

Arcadia Group Ltd was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (BHS), Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Wallis and Warehouse. At its peak, the group had more than 2,500 outlets in the UK and concessions in UK department stores and several hundred franchises operated internationally.

Burton is a British online clothing retailer and former high street retailer specialising in men's clothing and footwear. The company was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but became a trading name of Arcadia Group Brands Ltd, part of the Arcadia Group. Sir Philip Green acquired the Arcadia Group in 2002, and it became the sole owner of Burton. In 2021, Boohoo.com acquired the brand after Arcadia went into administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallis (retailer)</span> British womens clothing retailer

Wallis is an online British women's clothing brand. Previously a retailer, Wallis operated from 134 stores and 126 concessions across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Wallis was a subsidiary of the Arcadia Group before its collapse in late 2020. The brand is now owned by Boohoo.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JD Sports</span> British sports-fashion retail company

JD Sports Fashion plc, commonly known as JD Sports, JD or JD Group is a British sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The Pentland Group owns 55% of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Selfridge</span> Defunct British high street store chain

Miss Selfridge is a British fashion brand and former high street store chain which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges department store in London in 1966. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, which went into administration in late 2020. The Miss Selfridge brand was purchased by ASOS on 1 February 2021 and now operates exclusively online.

Frasers Group plc is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading predominantly under the Sports Direct brand which operates both physical outlets and online. Other retailers owned by the company include Jack Wills, GAME, Flannels, USC, Lillywhites, Evans Cycles and Matches Fashion. The company owns numerous intellectual property, including the brands Everlast, Lonsdale, Slazenger and No Fear. The group also expanded into operating fitness clubs, launching the Everlast Fitness Club chain in 2020.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) is a Carlisle-based retailer specialising in clothing, along with interests in homewares and destination shopping for tourists. It was previously owned by the Dubai-based British billionaire Philip Day.

ASOS plc is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in 2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well as its own range of clothing and accessories, and ships to all 196 countries from fulfilment centres in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe.

Richard Shops was a British high street retailer of women's fashion.

Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999.

Cristina Stuart Green, Lady Green, known as Tina Green, is an English businesswoman and interior designer. Green is the director of Taveta, the majority owner of Taveta Investments Ltd, the parent company of the Arcadia Group, of which her husband, Sir Philip Green, is chairman. The Arcadia Group owned the clothing retail chains Topshop and Topman, as well as Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, and Wallis. Taveta owned British Homes Stores (BHS) before its 2015 sale. BHS was placed into administration in 2016, and the Arcadia Group was placed into administration in 2020. Green formed the interior design company Green & Mingarelli with the Italian designer Pietro Mingarelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Shopping Park</span> Shopping mall in Liverpool, England

Liverpool Shopping Park is an out of town retail park located in Edge Lane, Liverpool, England. It is the biggest retail park in Liverpool, overtaking the New Mersey Retail Park in Speke, and has the world's largest Liver Bird at 30 ft (9.1 m) and made of Meccano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail</span> Aspect of viral outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a sharp economic toll on the retail industry worldwide as many retailers and shopping centers were forced to shut down for months due to mandated stay-at-home orders. As a result of these closures, online retailers received a major boost in sales as customers looked for alternative ways to shop and the effects of the retail apocalypse were exacerbated. A number of notable retailers filed for bankruptcy including Ascena Retail Group, Debenhams, Arcadia Group, Brooks Brothers, GNC, J. C. Penney, Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus.

References

  1. "Topman "Our History"". Arcadia Group. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  2. "Topman at ASOS". ASOS. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  3. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/top-man-brand-director-says-his-suits-are-for-hooligans-9234576.html
  4. Sciarretto, Amy (24 May 2019). "Topshop Is Closing All Of Its U.S. Stores After Bankruptcy Filing". Bustle. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  5. Butler, Sarah; Partridge, Joanna (30 November 2020). "Philip Green's Arcadia Group collapses into administration". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  6. Mustoe, Howard (27 November 2020). "Topshop owner Arcadia on brink of collapse". BBC News. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. "Asos frontrunner to buy Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge brands". BBC News. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  8. Makortoff, Kalyeena (1 February 2021). "Asos buys Topshop and Miss Selfridge brands for £295m". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  9. Nazir, Sahar (1 February 2021). "Asos acquires Topshop, Topman & Miss Selfridge in £330m deal". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  10. "Topman". heartintelligence.be.
  11. 1 2 "Topman". The Retail Appointment.