Topshop to open 80 stores in mainland China

Topshop has signed a deal with a Chinese partner that could lead to up to 80 stores being opened in mainland China with the first opening in spring/summer 2017.

The British high street retailer has agreed a deal with Shangpin, which already sells the Topshop brand on Shangpin.com, according to The Times. It is anticipated that the first store will be opened in either Beijing or Shanghai in the spring or summer of next year.

In a statement Topshop owner Sir Philip Green said: “For the first time both brands will deliver high fashion to the shop floor and beyond by opening full-scale stores in China — host to the world’s fastest-growing retail economy.”

Green owns a 75% stake in Topshop having sold 25% to US private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners in 2012. The brand, which is the jewel in the crown of Green's Arcadia Group, has 300 stores in the UK and 140 in international territories including 10 in the US.