ANOTHER big name brand is set to disappear from Colchester town centre for good after being taken over by an online retailer.
Yesterday Asos confirmed a £265 million takeover of four Arcadia brands - Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT.
The move will see the online clothing giant take on 300 members of staff but all of the stores will close permanently, including Colchester’s Topshop, in Lion Walk Shopping Centre.
The news is another big blow for Colchester town centre and follows hot on the heels of the announcement department shop Debenhams, in Culver Street West, will also close.
Sam Good, manager of Our Colchester Business Improvement District, admitted it was another cruel blow for the town centre.
He said: “It is sad news and it is worst for all for the employees who will lose their jobs.
“The Topshop unit should be a lot easier to find a replacement tenant for than Debenhams because of the square footage and its prime location - there really aren’t many better locations in Colchester.
“We would have loved to see them stay. Topshop is a brand which has changed with the times and it is really not nice to see it go.
“But I have been made aware of another organisation which has been looking at the unit since it became clear they were in trouble and I am confident a replacement can be found.”
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Mr Good said the bid was launching an employment support project with the hopes of finding Debenhams and Topshop staff new roles in the town centre.
He said he remained confident on the future of Colchester town centre, despite Covid-19 devastating retail centres across the country.
“Despite the pandemic we have still seen more openings than closures in the town centre and this shows we can be positive,” he said.
Asos said its acquisition of the four brands will “resonate” with its core customer base of “20-somethings” in the UK.
Chief executive Nick Beighton said: “The acquisition of these iconic British brands is a hugely exciting moment for Asos and our customers and will help accelerate our multi-brand platform strategy.”
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