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A woman is shopping at ASOS, the online fashion store, on a laptop.
Dinendra Haria | SOPA Pictures | LightRocket | Getty Images
Nordstrom said on Sunday it had acquired a minority stake in four clothing brands owned by British online fashion house Asos.
The brands – Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and sportswear brand HIIT – target all young consumers in their twenties. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Nordstrom president and brand chief Pete Nordstrom said he sees the collaboration as a way to redefine the business model of a wholesaler, such as Nordstrom, working with a retailer. He also expects it to open up the possibility of new strategic partnerships in the future.
While Asos will retain operational and creative control of the Topshop brands, Nordstrom will hold the exclusive retail rights for Topshop and Topman across North America.
“Bringing the Asos brands, including Topshop and Topman, to our customers allows us to create novelty and excitement,” Pete Nordstrom said in a statement.
The department store has been the exclusive distributor of Topshop and Topman in the United States since 2012. Nordstrom will now be the only physical location for these brands in the world.
Starting this fall, customers will also be able to pick up Asos online orders at all Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack locations, the companies said.
Asos acquired Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT in February. The brands were bankrupted after Arcadia Group, the British retail empire run by billionaire Philip Green for 18 years, filed for bankruptcy late last year. The closures initiated throughout 2020 due to the pandemic dealt a blow to Arcadia, which operated hundreds of stores. Asos, meanwhile, had an online-only business model.
Nordstrom is looking for ways to ensure that its existing customers return to shop frequently, while reaching people who have never visited its stores or website before. He has the opportunity to do so as the pandemic emerges – especially as many people are returning to work and school and need new wardrobes.
The company hopes that by offering products exclusively from Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT, Nordstrom will reach a younger generation of shoppers with growing purchasing power.
He could also use a boost. Nordstrom has yet to exceed its pre-pandemic revenue. For the three-month period ended May 1, its sales were down 13% from 2019. High labor and shipping costs, along with supply chain disruptions, added additional pressure on its activities.
Nordstrom shares are up about 15% year-to-date. The company has a market capitalization of $ 5.7 billion.
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