Business
Topshop returns to the high street, but can it get its cool back?
Karwai Tang/WireImage)For teenage girls like me in the 2000s and 2010s, going into a Topshop store was like being transported into a fantasy world.
There was music! Makeup! And fashion! All under one roof – with Topshop clothes often found on the pages of Vogue alongside high-end couture.
But somewhere along the way, things went wrong.
“Topshop lost its cool,” said fashion journalist Amber Graafland.
“And when that happens, it’s hard. Fashion is a fickle beast, people move on quickly.”
Then in 2020, its owner, Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia group, collapsed. All of Topshop’s physical stores shut soon after.
But Topshop is now launching a major comeback.
Standalone stores are returning to the High Street, Michelle Wilson, managing director of Topshop and Topman, confirmed to BBC News.
And on Saturday, Topshop is hosting its first catwalk show for seven years in Trafalgar Square. We’ve been told long-time brand muse model Cara Delevingne will be there.
It seems absence (and nostalgia) makes the heart grow fonder. As rumours of Topshop’s imminent return have been met by a wave of affection on social media, particularly among millennials and Gen-Z.
But industry experts say it will take more than nostalgia to make Topshop 2.0 a success.
‘They need to entice younger girls’
ShutterstockOne of the challenges that Topshop will face is attracting a new wave of shoppers through the doors.
Its previous core following are now women in their late 20s and 30s, but it can’t just rely on them, says Graafland.
“They will need to work hard to entice younger girls in,” she said.
What might help, though, is the nostalgia trend that has taken over social media feeds and High Streets in recent months (Joni jeans, anyone?)
Topshop’s team, for their part, think they can attract both older and newer groups.
“We want to deliver for those that are nostalgic for a brand that they felt like they lost,” Wilson said.
“But we absolutely want to appeal to a new demographic as well.”
Then, there’s the fashion. For me, shopping in Topshop as a teenager made me feel like the ‘it girl’.
On Saturdays, you’d breeze through racks to find the one item that justified taking money out of your barely-there bank balance.
When you bought it, you’d act nonchalant. “Oh this old thing? It’s from Topshop,” you’d tell your school friends, as if you could afford it all the time.
And I wasn’t the only one. Huge crowds would throng to the London landmark store to witness the launch of new ranges from A-listers like Beyoncé and Kate Moss.
Getty ImagesIn the 90s and 00s, designers “used to laugh at High Street fashion”, said Wayne Hemingway, a designer and co-founder of Red or Dead.
“They couldn’t keep up with the trends. Topshop was the only one that did.”
Hemingway, who worked with Topshop through its heyday, said a large part of its success was down to the team behind it, including Jane Shepherdson, its hugely influential brand director.
“They brought in second hand clothes for example, that’s normal now, but back then it was seen as absolutely radical to have a shopping department store doing that,” he said.
“You had the collaborations, the London Fashion Walk catwalk, all this design and excitement at High Street prices. It was so fresh, everyone wanted to be part of it.”
But over time, what people were looking for changed – and Topshop didn’t always keep up, said Graafland.
“They offered that unique London look. Then the girls who shopped there grew up, and they didn’t want that look anymore,” she said.
“You cannot afford to take your finger off pulse for one minute in fashion.”
She added that Topshop 2.0 would benefit from the fact its core aesthetic – the London girl look – is back in style, and that not many other retailers are offering it.
“If you look at the High Street now, there’s a strong Spanish presence, with the likes of Zara, and also a Swedish presence with H&M. When Arcadia collapsed, we lost that Britishness,” she said.
She added that a lot of the High Street is “playing it safe right now”, and that could also work in Topshop’s favour if can “get that cool edge back”.
Topshop’s team is confident that it can still win over shoppers with its trademark London-based swagger.
“We still think there’s a huge gap in the market for that,” Wilson said.
“The most important thing that we won’t forget, and maybe got forgotten about towards the end of the previous era, is that product is everything.
“It has to be the best quality product, the most fashionable product for our customer base, and bringing that at good value.”
And then there are the prices
Getty ImagesTopshop’s popularity peaked in the heady years before the cost of living crisis. Its team are aware of the stiff competition it now faces.
A pair of Topshop jeans will easily set you back about £50. Chinese fast fashion giant Shein offers them for about £17.
“If we’re just comparing Shein, then yes, I think most brands on the planet are at a higher price point than Shein,” Wilson said.
But she added: “We know that when we offer great fashion and great value for money then the product does sell very well, so absolutely no concerns about that to be honest.”
While Topshop might not churn out new pieces at the breakneck speed of its online-only rivals, in the past, it’s still faced questions over its environmental record.
For younger shoppers, this can be an important factor in deciding where to go.
Wilson, however, indicates the higher prices reflect a more sustainable model.
The firm’s focus, she said, is very much “on the livelihoods of people within the supply chain that we partner with and also the environmental impacts of the brand”.
‘There’s got to be a buzz around it’
PA MediaAfter Sir Green’s retail empire collapsed, the Topshop brand was bought by Asos.
You can still buy the items online on their website – but now, in-store shopping is coming back.
Topshop’s return to the High Street starts this month, with products set to be available to buy in certain stores.
But of course, the real interest is in the standalone stores which Wilson said are “definitely” coming back.
She wouldn’t give a date for their return, but said the aim was to open stores across the nation.
Topshop is choosing to relaunch at a time when the High Street continues to struggle. Just days ago, fashion accessories chain Claire’s collapsed into administration.
But Wilson said lessons have been learnt after what happened to Topshop 1.0.
“We’re just making sure we do it in the right way so that we don’t over-expand ourselves,” she said.
As for the stores themselves, it remains to be seen if they’ll have the same vibe as before.
For me, it was where I met friends after school, tried on eye shadow for the first time, and listened to DJs pumping out dance music.
In some stores you were able to order skinny caramel lattes, get your hair and nails done, and maybe even get a piercing or two if your mum wasn’t watching.
“Fashion is only part of the story. It’s about selling a lifestyle and an experience,” Graafland said. “There’s got to be that buzz around it.”
Topshop’s team say they won’t necessarily be replicating what it used to do, but rather, “finding ways to bring that into 2025 and do interesting things”.
Overall, the hopes are high.
“They will get the girls to the stores, I don’t doubt it,” Graafland said.
“The question is whether they can keep them there.”
Logo of Best Buy displayed outside a Best Buy store in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on March 22, 2025.
Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Best Buy surpassed Wall Street revenue and earnings expectations for its most recent quarter on Thursday, but stuck with its full-year forecast, citing tariff uncertainty.
On the company’s earnings call, CEO Corie Barry said the retailer is “increasingly confident about our plans for the back half of the year.” She said the company is “trending toward the higher end of our sales range.”
Yet she said, “given the uncertainty of potential tariff impacts in the back half, both on consumers overall as well as our business, we feel it is prudent to maintain the annual guidance we provided last quarter.”
The consumer electronics retailer said it expects revenue of $41.1 billion to $41.9 billion and adjusted earnings per share in a range of $6.15 to $6.30 for its full fiscal year 2026. In May, Best Buy had cut its full-year profit guidance from a prior range of $6.20 to $6.60.
The middle of Best Buy’s expected full-year revenue range would be roughly flat to its revenue of $41.53 billion in the previous year. Best Buy said it expects full-year comparable sales, a metric that tracks online sales and sales at stores open at least 14 months, to range between a 1% decline and a 1% increase.
Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas said the company’s full-year guidance reflects that some shoppers could hold off on purchases in the third quarter. He said the retailer could see a slowdown in the business in October “as people are waiting for those holiday deals to come.”
For Best Buy, back-to-school season is a crucial time as families and students come to the store for laptops, tablets and more. Barry said the company has seen “a strong customer response” to its sales events during the season.
“These results demonstrate an important aspect of our thesis: Our model really shines when there is innovation,” she said.
Shares of Best Buy were down about 4% in afternoon trading.
Here’s how the retailer did for the three-month period that ended August 2 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.28 adjusted vs. $1.21 expected
- Revenue: $9.44 billion vs. $9.24 billion expected
Best Buy’s net income for the fiscal second quarter of 2026 fell to $186 million, or 87 cents per share, from $291 million, or $1.34 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusting for one-time items, including restructuring charges, Best Buy reported earnings per share of $1.28.
Revenue increased from $9.29 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Best Buy has been navigating a challenging trifecta of factors. Customers have bought fewer kitchen appliances as they put off home purchases and projects because of higher interest rates. Some have hesitated to splurge on pricier items because of tariff-related uncertainty or held out on tech replacements as they wait for new or eye-catching items. The company’s annual sales have declined for the past three years.
To spur growth, Best Buy launched a third-party marketplace earlier this month to offer shoppers a wider selection of consumer electronics, accessories and more. On the marketplace, sellers who apply for the platform can list their own brands and items on Best Buy’s website and app.
The company already increased prices on some items because of tariff-related higher costs, Barry said on a mid-May call with reporters. She did not specify which items now cost more and described price increases as “the very last resort.”
Still, tariffs did not have a material impact on fiscal second-quarter financial results, Barry said on the company’s earnings call Thursday.
Shopping patterns
Barry said that shopping patterns at Best Buy have not changed from previous quarters. She said customers are “resilient, but deal-focused” and have been attracted to the company’s sales events like the one it held in July.
“In the current environment, customers continue to be thoughtful about big ticket purchases and are willing to spend on high price point products when they need to, or when there is technology innovation,” she said.
Best Buy’s comparable sales rose 1.6% in the fiscal second quarter compared to the year-ago period. That marked the company’s highest growth in three years, Barry said on the company’s earnings call.
In the U.S., comparable sales increased 1.1%, as customers bought mobile phones, video gaming equipment and items from its computing category. However, those sales trends were partially offset by weaker sales of appliances, home theaters, tablets and drones, the company said.
Investors have looked for signs that the replacement cycle is picking up about five years after consumers stocked up on laptops, kitchen appliances, computer screens and more during the Covid pandemic.
There were some indications of that rebound in Best Buy’s second quarter. Barry said the retailer’s computing category marked its sixth consecutive quarter of sales growth. It also recorded the highest number of second-quarter laptop unit sales in 15 years, she said.
Gaming in particular had stronger-than-expected sales in the quarter, thanks to the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, Barry said. The retailer capitalized on the highly anticipated launch by offering a way for customers to pre-order and opening stores at midnight when the gaming console dropped on June 5, so customers could line up and get it right away.
In the back half of the year, Barrie said Best Buy will try to rev up sales in slower categories like appliances and home theater by sharpening price points, adjusting the merchandise it sells and expanding the staffing devoted to them. The retailer has increasingly leaned on its vendor partners to staff stores, bringing in employees of Apple and Samsung for example, to support sales in different parts of its stores.
Barry said the retailer expects brands to ramp up those staffing contributions in the back half of the year.
Along with adding more dedicated brand experts to its stores, Best Buy has added new experiences to attract and engage customers. It’s testing mini-showrooms with Ikea that feature kitchen and laundry room appliances and merchandise from both retailers in 10 stores in Florida and Texas. It is also rolling out new experiences with Breville and SharkNinja to show off trendy coffeemakers, beauty items and more, Barry said. And it has areas in stores where shoppers can try out Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses with Meta AI technology.
For the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, Best Buy worked with Nintendo to double the space in stores ahead of the June launch. Nintendo also brought game trucks to select stores, physical trailers where customers could play with the new system and try out the latest videogames.
Best Buy’s fiscal second-quarter online sales in the U.S. rose 5.1% year over year and accounted for about a third of Best Buy’s total U.S. revenue in the quarter.
The FTSE 100 closed lower on Thursday, despite gains elsewhere in Europe, held back by a number of stocks trading ex-dividend.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 38.68 points, 0.4%, at 9,216.82. The FTSE 250 ended 60.63 points lower, 0.3%, at 21,744.40 and the AIM All-Share finished down 1.16 points, 0.2%, at 761.21.
On the FTSE 100, insurer Aviva topped the fallers, 3.1% lower as it traded ex-dividend, while LondonMetric Property, down 2.0% and Auto Trader, down 1.6%, also lost ground as they traded without entitlement to their payouts.
Among the risers was sports retailer JD Sports Fashion, up a further 2.8%, building on Wednesday’s gains which followed a well received trading update.
Berenberg raised its share price target to 155 pence from 128p.
“We believe that the 8.5x PE valuation fails to reflect the company’s potential for moderate growth, margin recovery and strong free cash flow,” the broker said in a research note.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.1% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1%.
Nvidia was down 1.1% in New York at the time of the London close as concerns over China took some of the gloss off strong results and guidance.
The chip maker has not included any sales from China in its guidance as it grapples with the fallout from its trade war with the US.
Chief executive Jensen Huang said Nvidia is talking to the Trump administration about the “importance of American companies to be able to address the Chinese market”.
Data showed the US economy grew at a stronger pace than expected in the second quarter of the year.
According to the latest reading from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US economy rose 3.3% quarter-on-quarter on an annualised basis in the three months to June, upwardly revised from the first estimate which showed 3.0% growth.
The first quarter saw the US economy shrink 0.5%.
The annualised calculation shows how much the economy would expand if that quarterly pace of growth continued for a whole year, according to the BEA.
Friday sees the release of the monthly personal consumption expenditures inflationary gauge. An acceleration in the annual growth rate of core PCE prices to 2.9% is expected for July, from 2.8% in June, according to consensus cited by FactSet.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.22%, trimmed from 4.26% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was 4.89%, narrowed from 4.91%.
The pound climbed to 1.3513 dollars late on Thursday afternoon in London, compared to 1.3469 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro rose to 1.1668 dollars.
In Europe, the Cac 40 in Paris ended up 0.2%, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt closed little changed.
Back in London, Drax fell 7.5% as it said the UK’s financial regulator had started a probe over the UK energy company’s sourcing for biomass pellets.
The Yorkshire-based power generator said it was notified on Tuesday that the Financial Conduct Authority has commenced an investigation into the company covering the period January 2022 to March 2024.
In a brief statement, Drax said the probe relates to certain historical statements regarding biomass sourcing and the compliance of Drax’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules and disclosure guidance and transparency rules.
Drax said it will co-operate with the FCA as part of their investigation.
In August 2024, Drax paid £25 million after industry regulator Ofgem found there was an absence of adequate data governance and controls in place that had contributed to the firm misreporting data in relation to the period April 2021 to March 2022.
Elsewhere, Hunting fell 2.9% as it reported increased revenue but lower profit in the first half of 2025 against a “volatile” market backdrop.
Looking ahead, Hunting said oil and gas demand has remained “steady and is likely to remain at a consistent level in the medium to long term”.
But in the near term, the geopolitical and macro-economic outlook remains “choppy”, it added.
PPHE Hotel shares sank 16% as the hotelier lowered full-year earnings guidance, alongside half year results.
The Amsterdam-based operator of Park Plaza and Art’otel hotels, among other brands, expects its full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be “similar” to that of 2024.
A barrel of Brent traded at 67.51 dollars late Thursday afternoon, down slightly from 67.55 on Wednesday. Gold pushed higher to 3,407.04 dollars an ounce against 3,387.91 on Wednesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Anglo American, up 64.00 pence at 2,265.00p, JD Sports Fashion, up 2.74p at 100.10p, Weir, up 42.00p at 2,496.00p, Rio Tinto, up 67.00p at 4,637.00p and DCC, up 56.00p at 4,696.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Aviva, down 21.00p at 656.20p, Land Securities, down 12.50p at 559.00p, Endeavour Mining, down 52.00p at 2,492.00p, Relx, down 70.00p at 2,492.00p and LondonMetric Property, down 3.70p at 186.40p.
There are no major events scheduled in Friday’s local corporate calendar.
The global economic calendar on Friday has US personal consumption expenditures data, Canadian GDP numbers, German retail sales figures and CPI prints in France and Germany.
– Contributed by Alliance News
A Dick’s Sporting Goods store is shown in Oceanside, California, U.S., May 15, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Dick’s Sporting Goods raised its full-year sales and earnings guidance after delivering fiscal second-quarter results that beat expectations.
The company is now expecting comparable sales to grow between 2% and 3.5%, up from a previous range of 1% and 3% and ahead of analyst estimates of 2.9%, according to StreetAccount.
Dick’s said its earnings per share are now expected to be between $13.90 and $14.50, up from a previous range of $13.80 to $14.40. Analysts were expecting $14.39 per share, according to LSEG.
Here’s how the company performed compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $4.38 adjusted vs. $4.32 expected
- Revenue: $3.65 billion vs. $3.63 billion expected
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Aug. 2 was $381 million, or $4.71 per share, compared with $362 million, or $4.37 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items related to its acquisition of Foot Locker and other costs, Dick’s posted earnings per share of $4.38.
Sales rose to $3.65 billion, up about 5% from $3.47 billion a year earlier. During the quarter, comparable sales also grew 5%, well ahead of expectations of 3.2%, according to StreetAccount.
“Our performance shows how well our long-term strategies are working, the strength and resilience of our operating model and the impact of our team’s consistent execution,” CEO Lauren Hobart said in a news release. “Our Q2 comps increased 5.0%, with growth in average ticket and transactions, and we drove second quarter gross margin expansion.”
While Dick’s comparable sales guidance came in ahead of expectations, its full-year revenue outlook was slightly below estimates. The company said it’s expecting revenue to be between $13.75 billion and $13.95 billion, below estimates of $14 billion, according to LSEG.
Dick’s said its raised profit guidance includes the impact of tariffs that are currently in effect. In an interview with CNBC’s Courtney Reagan, Dick’s executive chairman Ed Stack said the company has implemented some price increases to offset the impact of higher duties but has been “surgical” in its approach.
“We’ve been able to do what we need to from a pricing standpoint, whether that’s from the national brands or from our own brands, and then other places where we’ve held price, we’ve been able to do that, and we’ve offset it someplace else, which is what you have to do in these in these situations, and the team’s done a great job doing that,” Stack said.
Hobart said during Thursday’s call with analysts that the retailer hasn’t seen its shoppers balking at the “small-level” price increases that have gone into effect.
Hobart said broadly Dick’s hasn’t seen any signs of a consumer spending slowdown as a result of tariffs. She said Dick’s saw growth across all of its key segments during the quarter.
Foot Locker tie-up
The company said its guidance doesn’t include any potential impact from its acquisition of Foot Locker, such as costs or results from the planned takeover, which is expected to close on Sept. 8.
In May, Dick’s announced it would be acquiring its longtime rival for $2.4 billion, giving it a competitive edge in the wholesale sneaker market, most importantly for Nike products, along with a bigger global presence.
Nike is a critical brand partner for both Dick’s and Foot Locker and, at times, their performance is reliant on how well the sneaker brand is doing. During the quarter, Stack said new drops from Nike’s revamped running portfolio, including the Pegasus Premium and the Vomero Plus, are performing so well, it can’t keep the shoes in stock.
“Anything that’s new, innovative and kind of the cool factor, is blowing out,” Stack said.
However, the acquisition also comes with risks. Foot Locker’s business has been in the midst of an ambitious turnaround under CEO Mary Dillon but the company is still struggling.
In the quarter ended Aug. 2, Foot Locker’s sales fell 2.4% and it posted a loss of $38 million. The company faces a range of existential challenges, including its heavy mall footprint, its small online business and a core consumer that often has less discretionary income than the core Dick’s consumer.
Once the businesses are combined, Foot Locker’s struggles could ultimately weigh on Dick’s overall results. On the other hand, the combined company will become the No. 1 seller of athletic footwear in the U.S., which will allow it to better compete against its next biggest rival, JD Sports.
Stack acknowledged to CNBC that Foot Locker’s earnings “were not great” but said the company has a strategy.
“We have a game plan of how to turn this around,” Stack told Reagan. “We think that we can return Foot Locker to its rightful place in the top of this industry and we’re excited to roll up our sleeves and get started with that.”
Dick’s plans to operate Foot Locker as a separate entity. Moving forward, Stack said the company plans to break out details on how each brand is performing when releasing quarterly results. It’ll provide separate details on how Dick’s performed and how Foot Locker performed so investors can get a sense of what’s going on in each part of the business.
Hobart said during Thursday’s earnings call that as part of the acquisition, Dick’s plans to invest in Foot Locker stores and marketing. She also said Dick’s sees opportunities in merchandising and bringing in a new assortment of products.
“As Foot Locker becomes part of the Dick’s family, we are an even more important brand to our wholesale partners, and that’s part of the thesis,” Hobart said.
Earlier this week, Dick’s said it had received all regulatory approvals associated with the transaction. It’s unclear if it had to divest any stores to satisfy the FTC’s requirements.
— CNBC’s Ali McCadden contributed to this report.
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