Topshop to treble presence in the USA

Fashion tycoon Sir Philip Green is to press ahead with plans to treble the presence of his Topshop brand in the US.

The billionaire teamed up with the Seattle-based Nordstrom chain last year to bring Topshop to 14 of its branches, and said yesterday that a further 28 departments are in the pipeline, starting next month.

Green’s proposals, which he initially outlined last month, will also see the number of Topman departments rise from ten to 18.

Pete Nordstrom, the US group’s president of merchandising, said: “Through this collaboration, we hoped to attract new customers to both our women’s and men’s apparel businesses and create excitement in our stores and online.

“Through a lot of hard work and mutual effort, we have been able to measurably improve on these fronts.”

Green’s Arcadia group also owns the Bhs, Burton and Miss Selfridge chains, and the expansion of its Topshop and Topman brands, which largely target younger fashion-conscious shoppers, will stretch from the west coast of California to the eastern state of Rhode Island.

The retailer said: “I am excited about this next phase of the partnership between Nordstrom and Topshop and Topman. The first nine months have been a steep learning curve for us all, and it has been great to work with Pete and his team.”

Topshop has 319 stores in the UK, with a further 137 international franchises operating in 37 countries. In the US, it has a flagship store on Broadway in New York, as well as outlets in Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Nordstrom, which began life in 1901 as a shoe shop, now has 248 stores across the US and earlier this month reported a 4.4 per cent increase in like-for-like sales for the second quarter.