Careful expansion
The label’s very first French store is a 176 sqm store in the Galeries
Lafayette in Paris. CEO Philip Green finds the choice for Paris and the Galeries Lafayette an obvious one. “Parisian
people and the huge number of tourists attracted by the Galeries Lafayette know
what Topshop stands for.”
Topshop has chosen a careful expansion, unlike Primark which has started a
huge expansion offensive in France. Similar to its American and German efforts,
Topshop had previously launched a French web
shop to gauge what the French youth wanted. Afterwards, it created a corner
in the Galeries Lafayette, following up with a complete boutique on the second
floor of the Parisian luxury warehouse.
Next step: flagship store on the Champs-Elysées
This newest shop in the Galeries Lafayette is by no means the end for
Topshop: CEO Green wants at least one flagship store in the French capital.
“We have been looking for an ideal
location on the Champs-Elysées for two years now, somewhere in the vicinity
of Opéra or Saint-Germain-des-Près.” This new store would be comparable to
the one in Oxford Street in London, spanning 8,000 sqm of space and attracting
some 200,000 customers per week.
Combining original creations from
some fifty own designers with collections from guest designers like Kate Moss
is how Topshop wants to approach the customer. Its price range is slightly
higher than H&M and Zara (with their youth brands Pull &
Bear and Bershka), but it changes it array of clothing very fast, just like its
competition. Only a fifth of its total production comes from Asia, with
everything else being produced much closer to home.
(Translated by Gary Peeters)
