A pair of Tweets in quick succession this morning suggest that PrettyLittleThing founder Umar Kamani could be preparing to return to the world of fashion retail with an audacious bid for former high street giant Topshop.
The one time regular fixture of every town and city centre has been an online only affair since ASOS acquired it from parent Arcadia Group in 2021, following Arcadia’s administration in 2020.
The acquisition saw Topshop’s 500+ global stores close down, over 300 of them in the UK as well as a healthy grouping in the Middle East and further east in Malaysia and The Philippines too.
Recently, rumours have been rife that ASOS will attempt to unload the brand as part of restructuring plans after watching its shares plummet by around 40 per cent over the last 12 months.
Enter Kamani on Twitter (X) with a promise to “bring it back like the good old days”.
The Tweet came as part of a pair earlier this morning, with its twin in response to a fan asking Kamani, who became almost as much of a celebrity as the influencers PLT relied on for its marketing during his time in charge, to “come out of retirement”. Kamani’s reply consisted of just two words: “I’m coming.”
Kamani stepped down as CEO of Manchester’s PrettyLittleThing in April after a decade at the helm of the business he founded and built from an online accessories start up to a global fashion brand valued at close to £4bn.
Kamani, who is also a minority shareholder in his father’s business Boohoo, spoke at the time of his desire to take on “new challenges”. The task of bringing what was once one of the nation’s most recognisable fashion names back from the brink would certainly fit the criteria.
