Not to mourn the end of Top Shop if it happens

[nosswith]

Sympathy for staff and the loss of any jobs. However, Philip Green is a very nasty person and I will shed no tears for him. Indeed if I ever had ten minutes with Prince Albert of Monaco, I would suggest to him that banishing Mr Green from Monaco would be the best thing he could ever do.

don't they also own Monsoon and the like?

No, Monsoon Accessorize was one company which owned Monsoon and Accessorize. It went into administration earlier this year and the two brands were bought by a different company which is (IIRC) owned by Accessorize's founder.

I still can’t understand how that crook gets a knighthood for “services to the retail industry” and then gets to keep it despite the pension rading and tax avoidance that has caused damage and great worry to the staff of those companies he’s been involved with. A system the rewards self interested crooks and then fails to tackle them in the face of much evidence is completely corrupt and needs killing off.

@BrightYellowDaffodil

don't they also own Monsoon and the like?

No, Monsoon Accessorize was one company which owned Monsoon and Accessorize. It went into administration earlier this year and the two brands were bought by a different company which is (IIRC) owned by Accessorize's founder.

@BrightYellowDaffodil you are correct.

Laughing wryly at the thought of tax dodger extraordinaire Philip Green looking for 30 million quid. Sell your yacht!

He is a dreadful person his wife is dreadful his daughter dreadful. His son has wanted it to go online for a long time so I think it fits in perfectly with his aspirations - disclaimer friend works for them

I'd be a bit gutted, they have the only Jeans that fit me properly.

The pension deficit is a huge concern. Green stopped top up payments - required by the pensions regulator - to their inadequately funded pension fund at the outset of the pandemic and now it appears that both current and former employees will be left short.

Green should be in prison just for that decision. He knew his Group risked failure so he shafted the staff.

Topshop has gone seriously weird - 5-10 years ago I could go there for any clothes, casual, smart for work or going out. They’d be trendy and good quality. Now the stuff just looks like fancy dress!

Yes! River Island too!

Hopeclearwater😂

It’s already stuffed to the gunnels of it in there.

Kind of think there clothing division may be next.....

These are all retailers that haven’t kept up to date.

Next can deliver same day ( although I don’t particularly like Next) But retailers have got to offer something different to survive.

I can't take any joy from Topshop's demise. Doesn't matter what you think of Green, it's another nail in the coffin for British retail. We won't feel it now but in a few years when there's nothing left but supermarkets and Click and Collect Areas we will. Topshop will prob be bought by Boohoo, same as Oasis were. They just buy the name and stick a load of naff nylon online but it is not the same quality. I don't want to see shops disappear and if that means Green stays afloat then so be it. He's not the only unpleasant business owner out there but the others manage to keep quiet about it.

I hadn't been in Topshop for years (used to spend a fortune there as a teen, then I got too fat), but actually bought two jumpers from there on a whim last month and was pleasantly surprised at the price, and quality, and both have lasted well after many a wear. That store was at a out of town shopping centre and the store was lovely, spacious, and modern. A week later went to my closest one in a town and was gobsmacked at how shitty the shop looked, and how what was one large bright store 15 years ago was now three dark little corridors, each for a different brand. If the under investment in that town centre is typical of most of their shops, I'm not at all shocked they're struggling, that was not a pleasant retail experience.

I can't take any joy from Topshop's demise. Doesn't matter what you think of Green, it's another nail in the coffin for British retail.

This with double bells on ^^

I know that an awful lot of mumsnetters would rather eat hair than set foot in an actual shop to buy clothes, and think that women who enjoy clothes shopping in real shops are vacuous and shallow.

But why do they take pleasure in seeing the demise of yet another retailer, resulting in job losses and further reducing the choice for everyine else? Just why?

I love shops, real life shops. With people and mannequins and changing rooms and tills, and gorgeous window displays and going home with your new clothes. Some people prefer the convenience of sitting in front of a screen and clicking. I don't, I love shops and it will be a sad day for everyone when we all depend on a soulless shopping experience provided by Jeff Bezos.

You don't have to like Philip Green but you might miss his shops when they are gone. He's a British business man providing jobs for British people and not just retail staff, a lot of talented creative British people work for him. Where will they go?

@Mandalorian

I'd mourn Dorothy Perkins, their jeans are the best I've found. In fact when I read they were on the brink the first thing I did was go and order several pairs to stock up.

Same here!

The trouble is that people like Philip Green always walk away relatively unscathed (and still with ££££ in the bank) while their staff suffer.
This ^^

Only if you're of average height. The difference is that Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis all make petite and tall ranges. If Arcadia closed down, it would be an absolute disaster for petite and tall women.
And this ^
As a shortie I love DP jeans, however uncool they are! My last pair (I did get 3 pairs recently) were £4 in the obligatory sale at Debenhams.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8992973/Sir-Philip-Greens-TopShop-empire-Arcadia-Group-faces-collapse-days.html

Surprise surprise - Mike Ashley wants to buy it

I'll never forget when Jamie's Italian went under and all the staff got fuck all, not even any redundancy pay and Jamie got to still take out millions at the end. Lost all respect for him then.

He wouldn't have even noticed the money and could have paid them properly. What is it about people when they get millions in the bank that turns them into utter cyunts!

I would definitely mourn Topshop. One of the only decent places for jeans for me and a lot of variety style-wise. Plus, shopped a sale they had a few weeks ago and I actually found quite a bit that actually fit me properly after online shopping at places like Zara, H&M, ASOS, and returning 10+ outfits per shop with little to show for it (thank god for Klarna). I also get compliments when I wear their dresses and people are often surprised that they’re from Topshop. Plus, the service was usually good, way better than Zara.

I think the topshop business / brand will be acquired but I expect brands like DP, Burton, Wallis etc have had their day and will become defunct.

As others have said, boohoo buy the trading name and just churn out more slutty cheap slave trade made crap with a warehouse / oasis / Karen Millen label in it. So I really hope the Arcadia brands don’t go that way.

Surprise surprise - Mike Ashley wants to buy it

I dont know what's worse, the collapse of the high street entirely, or the fact that that one (fairly unscrupulous) man owns nearly everything left....?
I guess if it keeps people in jobs...

Top shop is hideously over priced for what it is. I remember back in the day there was a HUGE underground Top Shop at Oxford Circus. As a teen I could afford to shop there. Now as an adult I can't afford it, especially not with the materials and cut.
Same here. I'm sure it has got way more expensive as I would never afforded it as a teen.

Mike Ashley has been terrible for HoF, I don’t even go on the website anymore.

If Green goes then I'll start shopping at Top Shop again. He's a nasty piece of work.

Although Ashley will probably buy it won't he.

H of F is just like Sports Direct now!

I’m not sure how I feel.

I used to work at TOPSHOP for a few years whilst at university and then at head office on Berners st until I secured a grad job. Made lots of great friends along the way and have so many memories! I’ll always look back at that time fondly. It was an “iconic” time of my life, being 18 and moving to London. I’m still in my early 20s so that was the longest job I had service in, TOPSHOP was generally a massive part of my life.

I agree that TOPSHOP fell off, at times it wasn’t the best place to work and lots of talented, amazing people walked out. However that doesn’t mean that I want this to be the demise; hoping the TSTM brand pulls through at least. The rest of Arcadia’s offerings aren’t in demand so I can’t see them surviving frankly.

@IrishMamaMia

I still remember the excitement of Top Shop opening in Ireland in the early 00's and spending my Christmas bonus from my part-time job getting moto jeans. They made me feel great. I've had a few customer service incidents with them over the years though, they've been difficult about replacing faulty products and as others have said they don't seem to target the average woman in her 30's these days and haven't really adapted to new ways of selling. I still like the jeans though and would be sad to see the Oxford circus store go. It's so exciting with the concessions.

In Ireland too and Topshop are the only place I can shop for jeans for my midget legs. I'm bereft!