Nordstrom acquired a minority share in Asos Holdings to appeal to younger customers. The portfolio includes Topshop and Topman brands, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT.
The partnership will support the brands’ growth and reimagine the traditional retail-wholesale model. This will allow Nordstrom to join Asos in a more significant strategic partnership.
Nordstrom will have exclusive rights in North America for Topshop & Topman, Canada, and the only brick-and-mortar presence for the brands globally.
The investment will open the doors to an even larger strategic alliance. Both companies are discussing the possibility of creating a multichannel showcase to display a few Asos brands for Nordstrom customers.
Topshop and Topman have been exclusive distributors in the United States since 2012. Asos and Nordstrom can now leverage their complementary retail models to give more 20-somethings reason to shop through this strategic alliance. Nordstrom stated that the company is seeing an increase in the purchasing power and spending power of its younger customers as they age into the sweet spots of income generation.
Asos will maintain operational and creative control of Topshop brands. Asos will be working closely with the U.S. retailer to ensure a strong future for the iconic Topshop brands.
Asos Plc purchased Topshop, Topman Miss Selfridge, Topman, and HIIT brands about six months ago. It has also been transforming the digital experiences of these new entities into its platform. U.K. e-commerce giant, Asos Plc, confirmed Monday that it had acquired intellectual property assets of the labels from Arcadia Group Limited for PS265 million.
Asos indicated that there was significant interest in the development of strategic retail partnership deals. It also stated, “We see the particular potential to increase the brand‘s reach and accelerate U.S. Strategy via the Nordstrom partnership.”
Nordstrom is a major multichannel retailer with a vast physical and digital reach in North America. The company boasts two powerful brands with more than 350 stores and sites that attract nearly 2 billion visitors annually.
Asos’ market-leading app, mobile/desktop website experience and ten languages are available. Asos offers its customers a curated edit of 85,000 products culled from over 850 global and regional third-party brands.
Asos CEO Nick Beighton said, “Nordstrom, with its strong connection to Topshop, vast U.S. consumer insight, and unmatched reach right across North America is the right partner for Asos to accelerate the growth of our Topshop brands in this key markets.” Asos is about giving customers the confidence to be the person they want to become. Nordstrom’s partnership will help us in the U.S. We are excited about what lies ahead. This includes collaborating to deliver the highest quality product through engaging, frictionless multi-touch experiences.
Pete Nordstrom (president and chief brand officers) stated, “We couldn’t have found a better partnership in Asos. They are the world leader for fashion for the 20 something customer.” “We’re delighted to have the opportunity of working with them to reimagine our wholesale/retail partnership. We can bring the Asos brands Topshop and Topman to customers, creating excitement for this customer segment.
