Topshop enters Chinese market with flagship a decade after rivals

TOPSHOP has begun its belated push into China, arriving in the market almost a decade after high street rivals.

Work is currently under way at its first shop in mainland China, located on Shanghai’s Huaihai Middle Road, home to flagship stores for Adidas, Victoria’s Secret and Gucci. The new Topshop store, to open in September, will have three floors and occupy around 36,600 sq ft of space. The launch will come almost two years after retail tycoon Sir Philip Green first announced Topshop would be rolled out across the region.

At the time, it was thought that as many as 80 stores were to be launched in mainland China. The Daily Telegraph understands that Topshop has not found anywhere near 80 sites in which to set up shop to date. Its Chinese partner, members-only fashion website Shangpin.com, has said the target is 100 stores in the next five years.

However, the retailer said it has not committed to any firm numbers and is working on a site-by-site basis. When it first announced the China plans, Topshop said it was eyeing both Beijing and Shanghai as potential locations for its first stand-alone store. Shanghai was picked, ultimately, because of the site available. Currently shoppers in China can buy Topshop clothes online, through Shangpin.com, but its only physical presence is a small concession in the Galeries Lafayette store in Beijing.

It launched a number of pop-up shops over the years, at Beijing Fashion Week, Shenzhen and then in Shanghai, but has so far shied away from opening a stand-alone store. It is by no means the first European retailer to pursue mainland China’s burgeoning middle class. H & M launched its first store in mainland China in 2007, Zara in 2006 and Adidas in the Nineties. H & M now has 490 stores in the country, Adidas 9,000 stores and Zara 190 stores.

China could nevertheless prove to be a fruitful market for Topshop, given the womenswear industry in the country is said to be worth around 890bn yuan (£101bn). Topshop’s foray comes amid sliding sales in the UK and will coincide with a relaunch in Australia.

Owner Arcadia Group, which also owns Burton and Miss Selfridge, last year swooped in to save Topshop’s separately-owned Australian franchise business after it collapsed. The buy-out was Sir Philip’s first major transaction since he agreed to pay £363m into the BHS pension fund after the demise of the store.