Editors' Top Reads: News from Topshop, M&S, Gymshark and more...
Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
'This is not re-launch, this is just the start': Topshop frenzies fans
It had better be good when it comes. Expectation surrounding "new Topshop" is high. Fashion fans responded with glee this week to a further teaser post on social media from the brand saying that it wasn't just working on a relaunch but on a complete new start.
ASOS acquired the Topshop brand from the collapsed Arcadia in the midst of the pandemic. Being an online retailer, ASOS didn't want the stores, and the brand was absorbed into the ASOS abyss, relegated to just a name on a long list of others that the fashion giant sells.
That really was the first mistake, this brand was too big and too good to play second fiddle to ASOS and I always think a trick was missed by not keeping it entirely separate and not keeping at least some of its stores. It really feels like people have forgotten it still exists. I get that Oxford Circus was probably too big to keep (though am still heartbroken it has gone), but a few strategically placed physical outlets would have gone a long way towards keeping Topshop in the public consciousness.
Anyway, ASOS recently inked a joint-venture deal with its largest shareholder, the owner of the Bestseller group, for Topshop and is promising a complete revamp. For millennial and Gen X women, this is great news, judging by the reaction on social media (will Gen Z want it? I'm inclined to say "who cares right now?"). The laundry list of what its loyal fans want from new Topshop is basically exactly what they got from old Topshop (tea dresses, brilliant jeans, ballet flats, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung...). And they want some shops.
All of this does beg the question as to why ASOS didn't do this in the first place (they sold Topshop online, they knew what the customer wanted) but for now I shall just join in with the excitement and hope I am not disappointed when they finally stop teasing us and show us exactly what they are going to do.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
The Interview: Gymshark's Wholesale & Retail General Manager on driving retail expansion
It was interesting to meet with Gymshark’s Wholesale and Retail General Manager, Hannah Mercer, ahead of the brand’s latest store opening at Westfield London (White City). Bringing her into the fold to lead the retail and wholesale expansion 11 months ago looks like it could be a bit of a masterstroke. She’s a real retailer, that’s for sure.
Having started on the shop floor at Harrods many moons ago, she clearly has a real eye for the detail in retail and her comment "retail is as exciting as you make it" could not be more spot on. After getting on the executive training scheme at Harrods, she then went and wound up in a long-time Senior Director role at House of Fraser before returning to Harrods as Head of Retail. Then, following a stint as Senior Director of Bicester Village, Nike poached her for a Senior Director of Retail role – looking after all retail in Europe.
Then she headed to Adidas as Vice President for Global Key Cities, looking after retail in the 11 key cities across the world for over six years. No wonder Gymshark had their eye on her.
As we talked in the new Westfield White City store, she already had a real feel for the shopping centre having been instrumental in the opening of both the Nike and Adidas stores there. She also related to how they have now completed a London "trinity", having opened a major flagship on Regent Street, as well as Westfield Stratford in East London and now the latest in West London. And she talked of how they are planning a similar strategy in New York, once the huge flagship at 11 Bond Street in the city has hit the ground running – likely this summer.
They are actively looking for two more locations for concept stores – like both Westfield stores are – to feed the Gymshark "community" even more as it grows. It’s fascinating to see how Mercer is planning to add to the "blank piece of paper" she was handed when taking on the role at Gymshark, quite different to all she inherited at both Nike and Adidas, that’s for sure.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
Everything you need to know about Zac Posen's debut collection for Gap
A designer and high street collaboration never fails to capture the hearts and minds of high street lovers (myself included). In the space of one month, we're getting not just H&M's coveted Magda Butrym collaboration but also Gap's debut Zac Posen drop.
American fashion designer, renowned for his extravagant red carpet looks, Zac Posen, was named all-American brand Gap Inc.’s Executive Vice President and Creative Director back in February 2024. Gap is tapping into the premium sector amidst its transformation, finally bringing Posen's first collection to the UK high street on 8 April. The denim skort is already on my wishlist.
It is part of Gap's new venture - GapStudio - a new segment that represents "the highest expression of the iconic American brand in terms of style, craftsmanship and quality".
Back in October, Gap tested the premium waters with its sell-out collaboration with Cult Gaia. However, it was exclusive to the US. Although we get the Zac Posen offering five days after the US, we're pleased to say the UK gets a piece of the pie this time around.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
Marks & Spencer invests £50m in North West stores
News emerged this week that Marks & Spencer is investing £50 million to enhance its stores in the North West of England over the next year, creating 300 jobs and 100,000 total new square footage across the region.
As its strategy continues to pick up pace, the new investment reflects another step forward in the high street giant's store renewal programme, which is focused on having the right stores in the right places.
It comes as the department store aims to have 180 higher quality, higher productivity full-line stores that sell clothing, home, beauty and food, while also opening more than 100 bigger, better food sites, by FY28.
Having visited some of these new and improved stores myself, Marks & Spencer is certainly doing a great job - I could easily spend hours browsing. So, this is certainly good news for the North West!
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
Why the British Fashion Council is scrapping June Fashion Week
I'm not entirely surprised to learn that the British Fashion Council has decided to scrap the June edition of London Fashion Week. It began life as a menswear-focused event and gradually became co-ed, which I think added to the confusion about what its real purpose was. There have been rumblings on the fashion gossip circuit that both London and New York are, in fact, under pressure to both move to one big show per year in September and leave Paris and Milan to stage the big February events, which are attended by the big names from press and buying.
Indeed in cancelling the June event, the BFC is deciding to divert its efforts to supporting designers with showrooms in Paris. Sad as it is to have to accept it, this makes the most commercial sense both for the BFC and the designers it represents.
I have mixed feelings about the idea of going for one big event per year, particularly if Milan and Paris do not follow suit, which they won't. We risk losing more brands to those events if that is the case and it would feel like the first step towards London having no fashion week at all.
Instead of scaling back, I would love to see London scale up. Why can't we follow the Copenhagen model of staging trade shows (showcasing not only our brands but manufacturers and emerging design talent too) alongside our catwalk schedule and even, perhaps, a big fashion summit to make our event truly stand out from the pack? It's not easy, I know, but I feel now is the time for the industry to come together and work out what London could offer the world. We can't play Paris and Milan at their own game, but we can do something entirely different that will turn the spotlight back on London. The big question is, how do we make this happen?
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
