First it was a one-day pop-up, then a Trafalgar Square runway takeover, and then a debut in Liberty. What next for Topshop and Topman? The answer is John Lewis.
Topshop
We’ve already seen the department store chain adding hot new brands to its line-up and Topshop/Topman are among the hottest at the moment as they make their comeback.
On Wednesday, the company said it would debut in John Lewis stores next year. A selection will be available in 32 stores from February, although menswear brand Topman will only be stocked in six of them.
The two brands were bought by online retailer ASOS after owner Arcadia collapsed and the e-tailer sold control of them (a 75% stake) to Heartland, owner of online retailer Bestseller, in 2024. ASOS continues to manage the labels and has been putting major support behind their comeback.
John Lewis MD Peter Ruis, who’s been overseeing that chain’s own turnaround, said bringing Topshop and Topman back to UK high streets will be a landmark moment. He added that being the nationwide partner is “the ultimate proof of our strategy: offering the most-loved brands alongside the unwavering trust of our brand promise”.
Again, as with the arrival in Liberty, this is a perhaps unexpected move for Topshop, which is better known as a brand targeting a more youthful, trend-driven, mass-market customer than John Lewis is known for. But ‘new’ Topshop’s more premium positioning (even though it’s still at high street prices) combined with John Lewis’s bold fashion ambitions make it a more logical move than it first appears. And of course, Topshop’s long history means there are Millennials, Gen X and even Boomers out there who will be interested.
Ruis said Topshop will resonate with our “Gen Zs and our Gen Xs and everyone in between” and would sum up the new John Lewis.
Topshop’s MD Michelle Wilson said: “We want to be back at the forefront of both British fashion and British culture, and our mission is absolutely to bring the best of fashion to everyone.”
So what do analysts think? Tom Ljubojevic, apparel analyst at GlobalData, sees it as a generally good move.
It “will allow Topshop and Topman to benefit from the department store’s significant presence across the UK, helping to increase the brands’ visibility and customer awareness,” he said. He explained that the initial return to physical retail being limited to Liberty’s one location “will have far less consumer impact. A place in John Lewis’s stores will allow the brands to showcase their new lines to customers more effectively, as well as entice new shoppers who may have been unaware of their relaunch.”
But he wondered “who Topshop and Topman are targeting with their return. The strategy so far has suggested they are targeting a Millennial or older Gen Z customer, who will have bought from them in-store before they closed and will be excited about their return. This has been evidenced by the nostalgia-driven marketing and announcement of past ambassador Cara Delevingne as the new face of Topshop, as well as the return of classic styles like its Joni skinny jeans. The pricing and styling are reminiscent of competitor Zara, and the new edits and product selection show its trend focus, again suggesting they are targeting fashion conscious consumers in their late 20s to 30s that were past customers.”
He thinks Topshop and John Lewis will need to work hard to make sure they reach such consumers.
“While John Lewis does have a wide customer base, its core shopper is typically older than who the brands seem to be targeting,” he said. “Younger shoppers who did not previously buy from Topshop and Topman are unlikely to discover the new range through John Lewis. Therefore, the partnership may struggle to reach its full potential unless the brands can attract new consumers into John Lewis stores through more engaging campaigns.”
