Sir Philip Green has just announced that he expects over 250 of his Arcadia stores to close in the next three years, as they have experienced over a 40% drop in profits compared with last year.
“We have got – from my memory – 450 or 460 stores where leases expire in the next three years,” Sir Philip Green said. “And I think on our latest summary we will close more than half of those on lease expiry. So I would say, I would expect us to close 250, 260. Now, there may be other opportunities that turn up that we might want to open. But certainly, in terms of our existing portfolio, currently that’s our thinking.”
So what will happen to our beloved Arcadia-owned Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Burton? The man himself revealed that he isn’t sure about the fate of his most successful shops, but he did let on that we can expect to see heavy discounts this Christmas… and we have the weather-gods to thank for it.
Sir Philip Green explained that there hasn’t been a demand for winter warmers, due to the unusual lack of cold we have been experiencing.
“It’s been the hottest October and November in history,” he said. “Nobody can deal with that. Winter goods are tough. Trading conditions remain extremely challenging, with style, quality and value at the top of our agenda and more important than ever. I do believe everybody today is more financially aware than they’ve ever been in their life.”
We don’t know what will happen to Topshop in the long run, but we can at least make the most of the sales now that we have the chance.
Happy bargain hunting!
