Topshop to shut Westfield Stratford store when lease ends

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 5, 2020

In addition to the dozens of Arcadia stores earmarked for closure as part of a company voluntary agreement approved in June, Topshop is set to close one of its main branches in east London.

Arcadia has confirmed it is planning to close its Topshop/Topman flagship store in hugely popular mall Westfield Stratford City, in east London, when the lease expires.

Since it opened its doors in 2011, the two-storey flagship store has been a main attraction in the shopping centre, which is also home to Primark, Zara, Next and New Look.

The closure is not part of Arcadia’s CVA plans, which were approved in summer last year to put the group on the path to recovery after a period of declining trading performance.

So far, 23 of more than 560 stores in the UK and Ireland have been earmarked for closure, including Topshop sites in Bedford, Fareham, Luton, Nuneaton, Salisbury, and Dublin.

Other group brands including Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Miss Selfridge and Outfit will also see their store count shrink as part of the restructuring. 

Topshop has been one of the UK’s strongest and highest-profile fashion brands, but it hasn’t been immune to the problems affecting the wider retail sector, including changing consumer habits, ever-increasing online competition and challenging trading conditions.

In addition to the store closures, Arcadia will seek to renegotiate rents across its entire portfolio, and has recently refinanced its £310 million mortgage on the Topshop flagship store on Oxford Street in London.