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Written by: Susannah Streeter
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ASOS is to sell a 75% of its stake in the Topshop and Topman brands.
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It will sell three-quarters of its ownership in the brands to Danish firm Heartland by forming a 75:25 joint venture with the Nordic company.
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Heartland is owned by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen. It also owns clothing retailer Bestseller, which runs 2,800 retail stores across 30 countries. It holds a significant stake in ASOS.
Topshop, once a British fashion icon, is now set to be part of a Scandi retail wardrobe. When ASOS scooped Topshop out of the bargain bin, following Arcadia’s collapse, there were expectations it would form a longer-term part of its style offering. But now the Topshop brand will be majority owned by Heartland, the family-owned Danish fashion company.
This Scandi makeover could potentially herald a much bigger return of Topshop and Topman to bricks and mortar stores around the world. Heartland owns Bestseller, which operates a raft of other brands, some with standalone UK stores like Jack and Jones, while its Vero Moda collection is sold by other retailers, including Next.
Although Topshop clothes made a limited reappearance on the high street in ASOS’ first physical store, it has mainly been an online-only brand since Arcadia’s collapse.
Bestseller’s products are sold in 70 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Oceania and the Middle East while the wholesale business sells to more than 16,000 multi-brand and department stores globally. This deal could put Topshop back on the global fashion map: a dream Sir Philip Green tried to achieve but ultimately failed to realise.
This development also shows how tricky the last few years have been for ASOS as it grappled with fickle fashion trends. ASOS, originally shorthand for ‘As Seen On Screen’, had been perfectly placed to capitalise on the accelerated shift to online shopping during the pandemic, given its advanced e-commerce platform. It harnessed its savvy marketing and social media prowess and invested in persuading more shoppers to turn their bedrooms into fitting rooms. However, the cost of returns proved to be onerous, and as lockdowns eased, the try-before-you-buy trend returned and shoppers flocked back to stores. ASOS has also had to deal with the renewed might of Primark on the high street, and online challenges from fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu, which are flogging styles on the cheap. Offloading Topshop is part of its plan to streamline its offering and concentrate on own-brand items.