Editors’ Top Reads: News from ASOS, John Lewis, H&M and more… – TheIndustry.fashion

Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.

ASOS signs Topshop and Topman joint venture deal amid financial restructuring

Rumours have been swirling for a few weeks now that ASOS had secured a deal to sell off Topshop and Topman, the former Arcadia brands it acquired for £265 million in 2021. This week came confirmation that it has indeed done a deal but it wasn’t quite what some had expected (Frasers or NEXT hadn’t bought it for a start).

The online fashion giant has struck a JV deal with Heartland, the investment vehicle of Danish billionaire and owner of the Bestseller brand Anders Holch Povlsen. He is also the largest shareholder in ASOS, owning around 28% of its shares.

Heartland will own 75% of the JV with ASOS the remaining 25%, though it has an option of sell a further 5% to Heartland if it so chooses. ASOS will, under license, run the Topshop and Topman brands and continue to sell them online. It is also promising to expand the brands’ reach through online and offline wholesale deals.

Most excitingly, a full relaunch is promised in the coming six months, which I shall be most curious to see. And I’m not the only one. The market has missed Topshop and, while it didn’t actually disappear under ASOS ownership, it had rather lost its unique identity and fallen off the fashion radar. That ASOS acknowledges it needs a relaunch is an admission of that.

Topshop and ASOS may have swum in similar customer pools back in the heady days of the 2000s but there was something distinct about Topshop (not least due to its extraordinary Oxford Circus store, which is soon to be a branch of IKEA – typing that literally makes my soul bleed). Topshop had cred. It was worn by every other woman on the street (and not just the young ones) as well as every celebrity “it girl”. It did the coolest collabs and designer collections (and supported so much British talent in the process), not least of which was its sell-out line by supermodel Kate Moss. It staged the best London Fashion Week shows. It made the best jeans… I could go on.

ASOS was great too, but it wasn’t quite Topshop. I’m hoping that it has realised it nearly wasted a great opportunity with this acquisition and does the relaunch properly this time.

Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.

The Interview: Anamika Khanna on her collaboration with H&M

My first recollection of an H&M designer collaboration was when the brand teamed up with Jimmy Choo. It was 2009 and my 13-year-old self (with my best friend in tow) took the tube into town to hopefully be the first in line. Shock… we weren’t. But after getting my hands on a black leather studded cuff, which I still have to this day, my love affair – and fascination – with H&M designer collaborations commenced. Fast forward to 2024 and I was lucky enough to interview Anamika Khanna, H&M’s latest designer recruit.

Yesterday,  the retailer launched its collection with Anamika Khanna that merges “Indian craftsmanship with a contemporary aesthetic”. The collaboration made up of menswear, womenswear and accessories brings the beadwork and glamour the designer’s renowned for to high street consumers.

Khanna, who founded her eponymous label in the 1990s, told TheIndustry.fashion about her illustrious career, empowering women through clothing, and creating one of the most sought-after fashion collaborations of the year with H&M. Finally, the curtain was pulled back and I could see just how one of these designer collaborations came to life. Read the full interview here.

Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.

Barbour reunites with renowned Japanese designer To Ki To for new collaboration collection

I’ve got to hand it to Barbour for revisiting its design partnership with renowned Japanese designer Tokihito Yoshida, aka To Ki To, with a newly launched collaboration collection that launched this week, 15 years after they first joined forces.

When it comes to Barbour’s many collabs, the first To Ki To collections are among the most memorable, along with the Engineered Garments collaborations with another Japanese design legend, Daiki Suzuki.

The new meticulously detailed Barbour x To Ki To range has again been “created for true aficionados” who know proper product when they see it. It includes seven waxed jackets and three pieces of knitwear, bringing together To Ki To’s Japanese design principles of progressive functionality with Barbour’s design heritage and expertise in outdoor clothing.

The standout outerwear pieces are the ‘Shoreman’, ‘Horse Riding’, ‘Outland’ and ‘Military’ wax jackets, which are just so on the money – if you’ve got the money that is. The last on that list is retailing at £1,580. What you might call an “investment piece” for sure.

Thumbs up to Ian Bergin, Director of Menswear at Barbour, for giving us this new To Ki To collection. As he said: “The first time that we worked with To Ki To, he was able to bring a new perspective to our outerwear through his exceptional skill as a tailor and designer. Today, To Ki To’s approach and eye for detail is just as refreshing, and we are excited for the wearer to discover these incredibly detailed new pieces.”

They are certainly desired in these quarters!

Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor. 

Why is John Lewis bringing back its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ pledge and how will it work?

John Lewis has announced the return of its “Never Knowingly Undersold” price pledge from Monday, two years after abandoning it as the department store reaffirms its commitment to quality products, brilliant service and competitive prices.

As part of this, the British business will price match its products in-store and online to those across 25 major retailers, including Marks & Spencer, NEXT, Boots, Amazon, Fenwick, Selfridges, Flannels, and more. This was just one of a number of plans announced during a press conference yesterday, which our very own Contributing Editor, Tom Bottomley, attended to find out more. He takes an in depth look at why is John Lewis bringing back its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ pledge and how it will work.

An interesting read as it’s no secret that things haven’t been going great for John Lewis. It has been attempting to win back customers after a challenging few years that has seen it cut jobs and close several stores. It finally returned to a profit earlier this year, but much is still needed to be done. So, the decision by John Lewis’ new boss Peter Ruis to reinstate the price pledge, alongside a number of other plans, signals a change of direction from his predecessor and I wish him the best of luck!

Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.