The Brits are coming…slowly

By: Leonie Barrie - 23 June 2006 16:30

It’s one thing to have the ambition to take a well-known retail brand from one country to another, but something else entirely to turn the vision into reality as Sir Philip Green is finding out. He intends to open a flagship store for his Topshop chain in New York, but apart from finding the right site on which to invest his US$50m there is also the small detail of how to run the business from a distance.

“We are looking at it but we haven't got our heads around servicing and logistics,” he said yesterday. For a brand that prides itself on frequent deliveries of new stock, it’s not uncommon to receive two to three deliveries of fresh merchandise a day at its Oxford Street flagship in London. How it achieves that newness in New York is still up for discussion, but rumours that it could hire its own cargo plane to ensure a flow of merchandise are surely not far off the mark.

Topshop eyes Big Apple

Comments on this blog post

$50 million may be peanuts to Sir Philip, but flying goods in a chartered plane is just over the top. I'm sure there are companies in the USA who would be more than happy to supply garments made up to his standard. That way not only would he get the USA on his side, by providing jobs, but he would also show how planet friendly he is by not being the cause of even more pollution. After all, we have to live with the results of someone's brainwave, and I for one have no wish to find my home under 20 feet of water because Sir Philip wants to make a few extra bucks.

Chris Smith, United Kingdom