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ASOS expected to announce Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge acquisition on Monday

Lauretta Roberts
31 January 2021

ASOS, which last week announced it was in exclusive talks to acquire the Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge brands from Sir Philip Green's collapsed Arcadia Group, is expected to announce the deal as early as tomorrow (1 February).

According to Sky News the online fashion giant is expected to pay £250m for the brands and an additional £40m for the stock, having seen off rivals including Boohoo, Next in partnership with Davidson Kempner, Authentic Brands in partnership with JD Sports and Chinese giant Shein, to land the coveted brands.

The deal is likely to mean the closure of all Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge stores but there is some speculation that ASOS will look to secure the lease for the flagship store at 214 Oxford Street, which is being marketed separately from the brands.

Meanwhile on Friday Boohoo declared it was in exclusive talks to pick up the remainder of the Arcadia brands, which include Wallis, Burton and Dorothy Perkins for what it expected to be £25m. That deal too would spell the closure of all stores. Before Christmas, Australia's City Chic Collective acquired the Evans brand and online store but none of its physical outlets in a deal valued at £23m.

Last Monday Boohoo announced it had secured the Debenhams.com brand and website for £55m from the liquidators of the department store, but said it would not be taking any of its 118 stores and leading to the loss of most of its 12,000 staff.

Before it collapsed into administration at the end of November 2020, Arcadia operated around 450 stores and employed 13,000 staff. It seems likely now that most of those jobs will be lost.

While the deals will have a devastating effect on the high street given the loss of jobs and physical stores, the deals signify the rapid shift in power in fashion from the old guard to the new and both ASOS and Boohoo are well placed to revive the brands within their stables.

Read our analysis here. 

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