18 Facts About Topshop

Topshop started as a brand extension of the department store Peter Robinson in the 1960s and originally sold fashion by young British designers, such as Mary Quant and Stirling Cooper.

Topshop was founded in 1964 as Peter Robinson's Top Shop, a youth brand within the Sheffield branch and had a large department in the Oxford Street shop.

When she took on brand direction, Topshop had an annual profit of £9 million; by 2005 it was making over £100 million annually.

Under her tenure, Topshop became a key sponsor of London Fashion Week, sponsoring its Newgen arm that supports emerging British designers from 2002 and the Fashion East initiative – which acts as a bridge between London's fashion colleges and the Newgen scheme – a year later.

In 2015, Topshop started collaborating with the online retailer Zalando and began selling their merchandise in their shops.

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Topshop has been among the UK chain shops to work with high-fashion brands on capsule collections.

Topshop had around 510 shops including those that are franchised; over 300 shops were located in the UK.

Topshop began planning its expansion to the United States in the mid-2000s and was tipped to open in New York as early as 2007.

Topshop announced a five-year international expansion plan in early 2011, planning to open new shops across Asia, Australia and the US as well as seeking opportunities in Europe.

On 24 October 2013, Topshop opened a concession at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, its first outlet in France.

Topshop expanded into Australia in 2011, with shops in New South Wales and Victoria.

In March 2020 Topshop closed its final Australian store, 11 years after its initial launch.

In 2015, Topshop opened a flagship shop in Auckland and 10 months later a shop in Wellington.

Topshop has had a presence in New Zealand since 2010, opening a small concession within a department store in 2010.

Topshop had originally expanded into Singapore since 2000 with the outlet opening at Orchard Road.

Topshop has been criticised for its overseas sourcing policies and its tax arrangements.

In July 2013, the singer Rihanna won a lawsuit against Topshop to prevent it using her image unofficially on a T-shirt.

In July 2015, Topshop has been criticised for its mannequins which some judged as too skinny.