Failure to launch: Topshop forgets Jonathan and Olivia
After The Bay announced that they’d be welcoming “the first” Topshop in Canada yesterday, Jackie O’Brien was understandably irritated. The co-owner of Jonathan and Olivia was understanding of the need for franchising, but perturbed by The Bay’s dissociating her from Toronto’s Topshop introduction. Today, O’Brien indirectly responds to her critics in a press release, stating, “Topshop approached us over 18 months ago to test the Canadian market, as they considered us to be the leading independent retailer.”
Even if Jonathan and Olivia’s June 2010 launch was not so well documented, we still can’t see how a huge cash cow like Topshop could forget the only store-in-store in Toronto. This, however, is big business versus an indie darling, and sometimes the underdog is either the victor or, as is in this case, forgotten. We’re just happy to give credit where credit is due. And we do wonder if this is the start of #TeamJonathanandOlivia versus #TeamBay.
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