The trendy store, Topshop, will be bringing Nordstrom into a whole new spectrum
Nordstrom, the upscale department store chain, recently announced it’s collaboration with Topshop, the British based trendy fast-fashion store.
Nordstrom stores as well as Nordstrom.com will carry both Topshop and Topman merchandise, including cosmetics, shoes and accessories beginning in September. Fast-fashion stores such as Zara and H&M have become increasingly popular, providing consumer’s fresh product on a weekly basis.
The collaboration is expected to open up new markets for Nordstrom. “This will be a new customer for them, and a new customer for us,” Philip Green, Topshop owner, said during an interview at Topshop’s SoHo store.
“For a time, you had the same four department stores as mall anchors, and they had the same four brands…They need to spice things up,” said Deborah Weinswig, Citigroup analyst.
According to NYDaily, this isn’t the first collaboration Nordstrom has done to expand on their market range—trying to acquire the flash-sale site HauteLook and bringing e-commerce brand Bonobos into their stores.
Department stores want to attract younger shoppers, and strategy partnerships have become more prominent lately in doing so. J.C. Penney began carrying merchandise from Mango, under MNG by Mango. In recent light Neiman Marcus and Target announced both stores will be carrying a Christmas collection from 24 designers.
The collaboration is set to debut in 14 city store locations across the U.S. The locations vary in geographies, size and demographic, which will give Nordstrom a feel for which product merchandise will work, eventually delivering Topshop and Topman merchandises for most of its stores.
“Fast fashion implies cheap, and that’s not what we’re after…It wasn’t about how we sell a bunch of really cheap T-shirts. It’s about how we deliver credible new fashion to the customer” said Mr. Nordstrom.
Nordstrom will be allocating 2,500 square feet for women’s Topshop and 1,500 square feet for men’s Topman. Topshop has only three stores in the U.S.—SoHo, Chicago, and Las Vegas—but has 319 stores in Britain and 140 around the world.
Topshop currently isn’t selling merchandise under any other department store—in Canada, Topshop products are being sold at The Bay. Topshop has been approached by other department stores to collaborate, but the company was not interested in becoming a “mass-market store.”
