Myer has removed its 17 Topshop concessions from stores following the closure of five standalone Topshop/Topman locations last week.
Inside Retail understands that the Myer concessions closed on Monday, and that the standalone stores have been progressively closed by administrators Ferrier Hodgson over the last two weeks.
Myer declined to confirm any of the removals, or provide any comment on the reason behind the move. The company’s website still shows that all previously participating locations are stocking Topshop products.
Topshop administrators Ferrier Hodgson would not comment on Myer’s business, but confirmed that it has closed the majority of Topshop’s nine standalone stores.
Topshop/Topman’s locations in Miranda, Chatswood, Perth, Highpoint and Chapel street have now shut down, as negotiations continue with the brand’s UK-based parent company Arcadia Group save the company from collapse.
“The priority for Administrators remains to develop an appropriate operating model and structure that will continue the Topshop/Topman brand in Australia. Remaining stores will continue to trade as business as usual as the administrators continue their negotiations with the Arcadia Group,” a Ferrier spokesperson said.
Myer maintains a 20 per cent stake in Topshop’s Australian operation and analysts have previously warned that the closure of its Topshop concessions would lower its appeal to younger consumers, impacting sales.
Local retail veteran and former Topshop Australia franchisee Hilton Seskin handed the business over to Ferrier Hodgson in May after failing to fix what he has since called a “broken” operational model.
“We had absolutely, well I’m going to say very, very little control over what inventory came into the market,” Seskin revealed at a business lunch last month.
“Products made in Asia were shipped to the UK, put through a recycling plant – let’s call it a warehouse facility in the UK…and flown out to Australia.”
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