Receivers called in to Topshop New Zealand

The future of one of the UK’s most iconic high street fashion brands in one of its markets was hanging by a thread on Thursday morning, with confirmation that the operator of Topshop and Topman in the island nation had gone into receivership.

Topshop entered the New Zealand market in 2014, under a franchise agreement between the brand's owner, Philip Green's fashion empire Arcadia, and local firm Top Retail.

Top Retail was launched with backing from local menswear giant Barkers, fashion designer Karen Walker and property investor Philip Carter.

But on Thursday, Conor McElhinney and Kare Johnstone of McGrathNicol were called in as receivers by the company’s secured lender, at the request of Top Retail’s directors.

“We have put our hearts and souls into this business, we have the best staff, great store locations,” the directors said in a statement.

“It is with regret that the directors had no alternative but to request the secured lender to appoint receivers.

“We will work closely with the receivers to ensure the best possible outcome for the business and employees.”

The company’s two flagship stores in Auckland and Wellington would continue to operate, although the future of a South Island site in Christchurch was now up in the air.

Topshop and Topman had been expected to anchor The Crossing, a major retail redevelopment in central Christchurch on a site closed since the city was struck by a devastating earthquake in February 2011.

It’s understood the brand struggled to compete in the market, being undercut but local fashion giants such as Hallenstein Glasson, and also swimming against the tide of New Zealanders shopping online from overseas, which is tax-free.

The collapse follows a similar situation across the Tasman Sea in Australia, where the Topshop brand was tipped into voluntary administration in May.