Topshop could be acquired by online fashion retailer ASOS: report

Online fashion house ASOS is the frontrunner to acquire Topshop, the trendy British fashion label, Sky News reported on Saturday.

ASOS is looking to buy the brand for more than £ 250million ($ 342million), Sky News reported. The deal could be finalized by the end of the month, but a source said discussions on the news site remained “fluid”.

Topshop, part of British mogul Philip Green’s Arcadia fashion group, collapsed into government late last year, putting 13,000 jobs at risk. Deloitte has been appointed a director of Arcadia and said he is looking for buyers for the group’s brands: Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Evans, Burton and Outfit.

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Arcadia is one of the biggest victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Clothing companies around the world are among the hardest hit by the pandemic due to lockdowns, work-from-home warrants and temporary closures of stores and malls.

Arcadia was also struggling before the coronavirus pandemic, not investing enough resources in e-commerce and relying too much on in-store purchases.

In May 2019, Topshop filed for bankruptcy in the United States and closed all of its 11 stores there. The struggling retail group cut around 500 head office positions in July and laid off its retail staff.

ASOS, an all-online fashion giant, is reportedly buying the Topshop brand but is not holding any talks about buying from Topshop stores, Sky reported.

ASOS is competing to buy Topshop against several rivals, including Chinese fashion group Shein and US retailer Authentic Brands Group, Sky reported.