27 Oct 2014
Beyoncé teams up with TopShop to launch active clothing brand
BY Jak Phillips
Popstar Beyoncé has teamed up with fashion magnate Sir Philip Green to form the latest venture seeking to cash in on the convergence between the fashion and fitness industries.
The pair have formed the company Parkwood TopShop Athletic – which will produce a ‘global athletic street-wear brand’ – in a a 50/50 joint venture.
Launching around Q3 2015, the brand will encompass clothing, footwear and accessories across dance, fitness and sports categories. The brand will be distributed through Green’s TopShop stores and website, with a number of "existing and new partnerships" also to be explored.
We have been looking at this category as fashion inspired fitness develops, and know that this is right in our customers' heartland,” said Green, who is CEO of Arcadia – the fashion empire which includes TopShop, BHS and Dorothy Perkins.
“Creating a partnership with Beyonce?, one of the most hard-working and talented people in the world, who spends many hours of her life dancing, rehearsing and training is a unique opportunity to develop this category."
The venture follows the recent launch of online clothing giant Net-a-Porter’s sportswear arm for women, as well as a fitness tracking tennis shirt offering from Ralph Lauren – both indications that the fashion industry is beginning to home in on the growing sports and active wear market.
The sums at stake offer insight into why this may be. The total value of the sport market – sport-related goods and services – in the UK in 2013 was £25.8bn, expected to reach £27bn this year, according to Sheffield Hallam University's Sports Industry Research Centre (SIRC). Among UK consumer expenditure on sport in 2012, clothing sales (excluding footwear) made up the biggest segment at £3.7bn, followed by spending on health and fitness clubs at £2.8bn, so it’s of little surprise to see convergence between the two.
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