Topshop’s flagship Oxford Street store ‘to be sold off by Arcadia Group’

TOPSHOP’S flagship Oxford Street store is “to be sold off by Arcadia Group”, according to reports.

The three storey building is “up for sale” after its parent company Arcadia fell into administration in December, according to .

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The 90,000 sq ft store has been a regular feature of central London’s shopping hub since it opened in 1994 and had its own DJ booth and nail bar.

As well as it’s own fashion label, the store stocked more than 50 partner brands, a beauty service, its own personal shoppers and colourful window displays.

Property adviser Eastdil is reported to have been appointed to oversee the sale of the building, while Savills would advise on future leasing options.

The store is currently closed due to lockdown restrictions but could potentially remain shut if a sale of the building goes through.

However, an Arcadia spokesperson told The Sun there are currently no plans to permanently shut the branch.

They said: “The Topshop Topman Oxford Circus flagship store is not permanently closed as has been reported.  

“It is only temporarily closed in accordance with recent Government announcement and lockdown affecting non-essential retail stores.”

Topshop has said there will be no closing down sale as the shop is not shut for good.

Many customers have been saddened by the news and have shared their memories of the store on Twitter.

One user described working in the store as a “rite of passage.”

Another said it was always their “backup plan” for an outfit.

There was even a post joking that the store could be turned into a hybrid of a Sports Direct and a Wetherspoons.

Arcadia, which owns brands including Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, collapsed last year and put 13,000 jobs at risk.

The fashion empire, run by Philip Green, saw its sales hit by pandemic closures as well as competition from online retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.

Arcadia’s administrator Deloitte has already sold Evans and is still looking for buyers to snap up Topshop, with rival Next rumoured to be interested.

Martin Lewis explains what to do if you have a Topshop gift voucher.

Other retailers Aldo, Debenhams, Jaeger, Oasis,  Peacocks and Warehouse have also all collapsed since the pandemic began.

Last March, Laura Ashley collapsed into administration after talks to rescue the chain failed for the same reason.