ASOS buys TopShop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge brands for $363 million

ASOS will be taking over some of the leading fashion brands in the U.K., including TopShop, Miss Selfridge, and Topman. This was possible after the online fashion retailer agreed to purchase them in a $363 million or £295 million deal.

ASOS will build upon its newly-acquired brands to expand its online retail platform

AP News reported that with the acquisition, only 300 employees would be retained, and they will be transferred once the deal is properly sealed. Then again, the acquired stores have thousands of employees who worked in their 70 brick and mortar outlets but sadly, not all of them could be saved from unemployment.

Since ASOS only operates online, it will only need a handful of staff; thus, it could not take all of the employees. It should be noted that while the British online retailer bought the mentioned fashion labels, including HIIT brands, it did not buy the actual stores.

At any rate, ASOS is planning to use the popular brands that it bought for expanding the company. TopShop once owned designs by Beyonce and Kate Moss, and the company will bank on this to recapture the investment and make the firm one of the best in the industry.

"We are extremely proud to be the new owners of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands,” Nick Beighton, ASOS CEO, said. “This transaction allows us to bring iconic brands in-house, allowing us to overlay our core strengths and transform them into leading digital-first brands.”

He added that the “acquisition of these iconic British brands is a hugely exciting moment for the company and its customers, and will help accelerate ASOS’ multi-brand platform strategy.” Beighton further said that they will be developing the brands further by applying their marketing, design, tech and logistics strategies.

The collapse of Arcadia and Sir Philip Green's retail empire

The takeover of TopShop and the others resulted from the collapse of Arcadia Group, a chain of retail company owned by British businessman Sir Philip Green. The business fell into insolvency in December last year due to the store closures as they were battered by the pandemic.

Finally, the other iconic brands under the Arcadia Group, such as Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, and Burton, are also likely to be acquired by another online fashion retailer Boohoo. But just like ASOS, the physical stores will not be included in the deal and will solely be the brands.