Online shopping giant Asos has bought the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands from administrators of Arcadia Group for £295m.
The deal excludes all 70 of the Arcadia’s stores operating under the brands.
Asos has bought the brands, intellectual property and £30m of inventory as well as taking on some 300 employees across the brands’ design, buying and retail partnerships, who will be transferred to its business as part of the deal.
Nick Beighton, Asos chief executive, said: “The acquisition of these iconic British brands is a hugely exciting moment for Asos and our customers and will help accelerate our multi-brand platform strategy. We have been central to driving their recent growth online and, under our ownership, we will develop them further, using our design, marketing, technology and logistics expertise, and working closely with key strategic retail partners in the UK and around the world.”
Asos said the acquisition represented a “compelling strategic opportunity” in support of its mission to become the number one destination for fashion-loving 20-somethings worldwide. It added that its global warehouse infrastructure would give it “significant scope for selective development of strategic retail partnerships”, particularly in the US.
Deloitte, which is handling the administration, said the process to find new owners for Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis remained ongoing but that it was in exclusive discussions with a potential purchaser.
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