Bleak future for 2,500 Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge workers as brands sold to ASOS

ASOS has agreed to buy Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge – but their 70 stores, employing 2,500 people, are not included in the deal.

The online retailer is paying a total of £330m for the brands, plus stock currently held and on order, following the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire late last year.

Around 300 employees will transfer to the new owners but it spells a bleak future for those working in the stores, which are all expected to close permanently.

The transaction, which also includes leisurewear brand HIIT, is expected to be completed later this week.

ASOS said: “These are strong brands that resonate well with our core customer base.”

Chief executive Nick Beighton said: “We are extremely proud to be the new owners of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands.

“The acquisition of these iconic British brands is a hugely exciting moment for ASOS and our customers and will help accelerate our multi-brand platform strategy.”

Mr Beighton told reporters on Monday that the company was “looking at” the possibility of retaining Topshop’s flagship store on Oxford Street, but admitted it was “not a priority”.

“It is something we are considering but we are not a stores business,” he said.

Shares of ASOS rose 2% on the announcement of the deal, which confirmed a story first reported by Sky News.

A spokesman for administrators Deloitte said it included £265m for the brands, £30m for stock and £35m for stock on order.

It is the biggest transaction so far in the break-up of the Arcadia empire, which employed 13,000 people and operated from more than 400 stores when it collapsed into administration at the end of November.

The demise of Arcadia closed the chapter on a retail career which had seen Sir Philip hailed as king of the high street but later heavily criticised over his role in the fate of BHS – which collapsed a year after he sold it to a former bankrupt for £1.

In 2019, Arcadia staved off the threat of collapse after a last-ditch deal with creditors but the COVID-19 crisis – which has devastated high street stores but boosted online retailers such as ASOS – proved the final straw.

Boohoo, which has also thrived during the pandemic, is lining up a deal to buy the remainder of the empire, confirming last week it was in exclusive talks to buy the Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis brands – but again would see stores left out.

Separately, Boohoo has paid £55m to acquire the brand of collapsed department store chain Debenhams in a transaction which will see 118 stores close with the loss of more than 10,000 staff.

(c) Sky News 2021: Bleak future for 2,500 Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge workers as brands sold to ASOS