Following such competing European fast-fashion brands as Zara and H&M, Topshop will begin this week selling in China. Unlike Zara and H&M, however, Topshop is not initially opening bricks-and-mortar stores, but instead making its trendy women’s apparel and accessories available through e-commerce site Shangpin.com.
Shangpin, No. 46 in the Internet Retailer China 500, will start selling Topshop apparel Wednesday. Topshop says it will introduce 1,000 new products each month on the Chinese site. Topshop is a brand of Arcadia Group of the United Kingdom, which is No. 72 of Internet Retailer Europe 500.
“As we are expanding globally, the power of internet allows us to move forward into China and serve the most dynamic consumers in the world,” says Philip Green, CEO of Arcadia Group. “We decided to partner with Shangpin.com because they have demonstrated their strong capability in marketing and operation for international brands.”
Shangpin.com, which sells moderately priced to high end fashion apparel, says it has more than 5 million users and has signed retail agreements with about 100 international designers’ brands. They include U.S. brands Tracy Reese and Stuart Weitzman, and European brands Sergio Rossi and L. K. Bennett.
“I am confident that Topshop will have a promising performance in China,” says Shangpin.com chief executive officer Zhao Shicheng. “In the past several years, we made great efforts to research Chinese online consumers. We find the majority of Chinese fashion shoppers are young people in their twenties, and they buy unique products to show their individuality. Topshop is a perfect brand to meet those demands.”
Founded in 1964, Topshop has about 500 stores in 38 countries across the world, including 324 stores in the United Kingdom and two shops it opened last year in Hong Kong. Topshop’s e-commerce site Topshop.com delivers to more than 110 countries worldwide, according to Arcadia Group.
The news of Topshop’s arrival in China has prompted welcome messages on Chinese social network Weibo.com.
“I am delighted to see the move from Topshop because I can buy their products much easier in the future,” one Chinese consumer says, “Now I don’t need to take a trip to Hong Kong to visit their stores or wait for one month to receive the products from Topshop’s international site.”
Zara, part of Inditex Group of Spain, is No. 60 in the Internet Retailer Europe 500 listing of Europe’s leading retailers by web sales. H&M is No. 84.