Topshop's Shanghai flagship store to open this year

United Kingdom fashion chain Topshop has secured a site in Shanghai and will open its first standalone store in the city later this year.

The British multinational retailer started its expansion into the Chinese mainland by selling clothes and accessories online, via fashion retailer Shangpin.com. The Chinese e-commerce company and Topshop have been collaborating for three years.

The high-street giant has also had a number of pop-up shops over the years, at Beijing Fashion Week, in Shenzhen, and then in Shanghai.

A Topshop spokesperson said: "Topshop/Topman is delighted to confirm a site has been secured in Shanghai, China. Further developments will be announced in due course."

According to media reports, work is underway on the Shanghai flagship, which will be on Huaihai Middle Road.

The store is slated to open in September and will have three floors and around 3,400 square meters of space.

Currently, Topshop's presence in China is limited to a small concession in the Galeries Lafayette department store in Beijing and to three stores in Hong Kong.

When Topshop's China plans were first announced, it was speculated that the company could end up opening as many as 80 outlets.

However, Shangpin.com said the company now plans to open more than 100 Topshop and Topman stores on the Chinese mainland during the next five years.

Shangpin.com is a members-only website with 30 million registered subscribers.

Founder and Chief Executive David Zhao said: "It is gratifying to be trusted by such a world-renowned fashion brand to take them further in China."

Topshop's expansion comes after more than a decade of falling behind European retailers H&M and Zara, which have hundreds of branches in China.

H&M launched its first store in the Chinese mainland in 2007, and Zara did likewise in 2006.

But some European brands have struggled in China. UK-based Marks and Spencer recently closed all of its 10 stores there.

Topshop is part of Philip Green's Arcadia Group fashion empire.

Analysts say it is easily the most valuable part of Arcadia Group.

Green owns a 75 percent stake in Topshop after having sold 25 percent to US private equity firm Leonard Green in 2012.

boleung@mail.chinadailyuk.com