Topshop and Topman widen reach with Shop Direct link-up

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 25, 2019

Arcadia is working hard on its recovery plan for star brands Topshop and Topman and not long after it inked a deal to sell on Asos, it has also unveiled a link-up with Shop Direct.

The two brands are now available on Shop Direct’s Very and Littlewoods platforms with the deal also meaning the e-tail giant has become the first UK retailer outside of the Arcadia Group itself to stock Topshop Beauty.

The brands launched on the sites at the weekend with Shop Direct saying it now has “one of the most compelling Topshop edits in the market.” Is that typical press release hyperbole? Not at all. The company is offering around 500 product lines at the moment and this will expand to 2,000 during AW19. The range spans clothing, footwear, accessories, maternity, petite and tall.

Meanwhile the extensive Topshop Beauty collection takes in more than 200 product options, including lipsticks, eyeshadows, highlighters and nail polishes.

It’s a big deal for both companies, but isn’t the first collab between Arcadia and Shop Direct. The latter already stocks Arcadia-owned Wallis, Evans and Miss Selfridge. And it will also be launching the group’s Burton and Dorothy Perkins ranges in September following the Topshop and Topman debuts.

Fashion is one of Shop Direct’s biggest product categories, with clothing and footwear accounting for more than a third of its total retail sales mix in its most recent full-year results (the year to June 2018). The e-tailer had annual sales of £1.96 billion and is the UK’s largest integrated pureplay digital retailer and financial services provider.

MD Sam Perkins said of the new deal: “Topshop and Topman are two of the biggest fashion brands out there. This new partnership builds on our long-term, successful relationship with the Arcadia Group. We believe it’ll attract even more customers to Very and Littlewoods – giving them access to a range of different ways to pay – and open up the Topshop and Topman brands to a whole new group of customers.”