Could fashion giant Topshop be coming to Canberra? As Melbourne prepares for the opening of global fashion retailer H&M, sources say that fellow European store Topshop may be opening in Canberra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With an increasingly trendy and cashed-up population, Canberra is clearly in the sights of the big fashion chains. In March last year, after months of thinly veiled secrecy, Spanish powerhouse Zara opened up in the Canberra Centre, ahead of bigger capital cities like Brisbane.
Now sources say that Canberra Centre have had Topshop “on their radar" and there is speculation a Canberra store is in the works.
Canberra Centre senior centre manager Karen Noad said the centre was unable to comment on "market speculation", but did not deny the rumours.
This weekend, Australia’s fashion community is focused on Melbourne, where the country’s first H&M store will open in the GPO Building on Saturday.
H&M chief executive Karl-Johan Persson, who is in the country for the store’s opening, told BusinessDay the Swedish retailer was looking for suitable properties in more cities.
It is not yet clear whether a store will be opening in Canberra.
“We are already now looking for stores in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and some other cities,'' he said.
Bookmaker Sportsbet has weighed in of the likelihood of the next H&M store opening in Canberra, but it isn’t very confident, putting Canberra behind Hobart, and more surprisingly, Geelong.
It places Canberra as an outsider at odds of $13 behind Sydney ($1.85), Perth ($6), Brisbane ($8), Adelaide ($10), Geelong ($11) and Hobart ($12).
