Topshop takes Toronto (again)
The Bay snags UK retailer after all
By Andrew Sardone
http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/lifestyle/story.cfm?content=179512#
If I’ve ever come close to anything resembling a journalistic scoop in my short career as a hard hitting style reporter, it was being one of the first to know that Jonathan + Olivia on Ossington had landed Topshop. I can still remember the panicked rush I felt when the store tweeted the news a few minutes before our story went live, wondering if all the whispering and tongue biting I endured leading up the announcement had been in vain.
Thankfully, I don’t need to sit on the big secret that the UK based retailer has inked a partnership with The Bay to roll out Topshop
stores across the country. The details have been released today, including that as many as 50 locations could open and Bay CEO
Bonnie Brooks expects a 10 per cent jump in sales from younger shoppers flooding in for fast fashion fixes.
Before the J+O partnership was revealed last May, The Bay was considered the frontrunner to get the Topshop goods. But even after Jonathan+Olivia secured the collection and expanded to accommodate biweekly shipments of cheap and chic merch, some consumers commented that the shopping experience could never match the crowds and selection at a full Topshop store.
It’s obvious now that it was never supposed to and the J+O partnership was about teasing shoppers with the womenswear, Top Man and cosmetics collections before the grand opening, a buzz building strategy the company has employed in other new markets.
As for what happens to the Jonathan+Olivia store-in-store, no word yet from owner Jackie O’Brien but I personally wouldn’t mind a J.Crew pop up within walking distance of my house. Hint hint.
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