Topshop is returning to the High Street, several years after closing all its UK stores. It’s going to be available in 32 John Lewis branches from February 2026.
After its heyday from the 1980s to the 2000s, the Topshop chain disappeared with the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire in 2020. The name was bought by online retailer Asos, which then sold it on to the Danish retail tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen. Topshop goods are sold online, but now the brand will reappear on the High Street – and perhaps with standalone stores in future.
Topshop struggled to keep up with changing shopping habits – primarily the rise of online shopping – among its key demographic of young adults. Core customers moved on, and replacing them with new shoppers proved difficult.
In the Archive we have from 1984 a Fashion Market Research Study conducted for Habitat/Richard Shops, in which Topshop was seen as having lovely clothes and being very fashionable – but the communal changing rooms weren’t liked, nor that it was generally very noisy, seen as being for really young girls and not catering for the slightly bigger person (16+).
As TGI data also held within the Archive show, Topshop’s customer base from the 1980s onwards was consistently around 3 million shoppers, before dipping in the 2010s. Throughout this time over two-thirds of its shoppers were aged under 35.
Topshop will be hoping that legacy customers – who are nowadays perhaps John Lewis customers – still have their affection for the brand, or that its ‘fast fashion’ approach can attract a whole new generation to the brand. Perhaps proper changing rooms and larger sizes will help as well!
Copyright © Kantar Media UK Limited 2025
TGI (Target Group Index) is a continuous survey which has been carried out in Great Britain since 1969, based on 25,000 adults per annum, who provide information on their use of all major products, brands and services. Media exposure, attitudinal and demographic data are also included. Kantar, who own and operate TGI, have made major donations of data to AMSR. To explore the TGI archive within AMSR, click here: Target Group Index – The AMSR Online Archive (oclc.org)
The 1984 report on fashion can be found here:
Report on fashion market research – Page 1 – Reports of projects – The AMSR Online Archive
All data copyright © Kantar Media UK Limited 2025. All use of TGI Data is subject to Kantar Media UK Limited’s terms and conditions.
Date posted: 18th February 2026
Photo: Maddie Red / Shutterstock.com