Jewel in the Arcadia crown Topshop is taking the unusual step of ‘resetting’ its store estate to prepare for peak trading.

It’s an unusual step, and one that the retailer has never taken before, but the high street now faces a more intensely competitive trading environment than ever and under-pressure mid-market fashion retailers have it tougher than most.

Arcadia has had more than its fair share of problems over the past year, with its last results showing how much the retailer has suffered in the wake of international players such as Inditex and etailers like Asos and Boohoo entering the market.

But this reset is also a prime example of the sort of self-help that retailers keep talking about – and for that, Topshop should be praised.

Elsewhere today, Aldi and Iceland joined the retailers defying the Royal Mint deadline on the old £1 coin and WHSmith has unveiled a new format.

Quote of the day

“It is very clear that hundreds of millions of the old coins remain in circulation just three days before the Royal Mint’s deadline”

– Iceland group managing director Tarsem Dhaliwal on why the grocer is flouting the Royal Mint deadline on £1 coins

Today in numbers

50%
The portion of Topshop stores that will temporarily close for a ‘reset’ on Sunday

89.1%
The percentage of postal workers who voted to strike this month. Royal Mail has now obtained an injunction against them

Becky Waller-Davies, reporter 

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