UK fast fashion brand Topshop are coming to Australia, with plans to open two standalone stores in Sydney and Melbourne in 2012.
Previously, Topshop were stocked as a brand only in
Incu stores in Sydney and Melbourne but now are looking at locations to put the stores in indirect competition with the recently opened
Zara stores.
News about Topshop's Australian expansion at
Fashionising, incidcate the most likely location for the Melbourne store to be in the Jam Factory complex on Chapel Street. Fashionising reports that Topshop could take over the 2,800 square metres of retail space previously used by Borders before their bankruptcy and closure.
From Fashionising: "While it would be impossible for the whole property to be dedicated to floor and shelf space, at 2,800 square metres the single storey Topshop store would be larger than Zara’s Melbourne store, which totals to 1,700 square metres spread across three levels.
With Australians already the third largest consumers of Topshops goods via their online store, Topshop’s opening in the country is a move certain to cement their position in the market."
It is not yet confirmed whether Topshop will feature collections by Australian designers they way their UK stores have with
collections by Kate Moss and
style selections by Katie Shillingford, Editor of Dazed & Confused magazine. Margy Osmond, CEO of the Australian National Retailers Association spoke on Kerri-Anne this morning, saying in international locations Topshop have not yet invited local designers to collaborate, but that trend could always change.
"It's not been their model in the past, but there's no reason why it couldn't necessarily happen," Ms Osmond said.
You can view the interview on Kerri-Anne
here.
