MANILA - Attention fashionistas: Fashion brands Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton will close down their physical stores in the Philippines starting March up to April.

"Confirming that we are closing our stores - Topshop/Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Burton. Last few stores to close in April," Gina Roa-Dipaling, vice president of Robinsons Retail Holdings for corporate planning, told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday night.

Robinsons Retail is the franchise holder of the fashion brands, previously held by UK-based Arcadia Group Limited.

Arcadia Group recently sold Topshop and Topman brands to online retailer ASOS, while Dorothy Perkins and Burton were bought by another online retailer Boohoo.

"The principal of the brands (Arcadia) entered into an Administration or an equivalent of Chapter 11 [filing for bankruptcy] in the US. The brands were bought by online companies Asos and Boohoo. Thus, all franchise deals for offline stores got canceled," Roa-Dipaling said.

She also confirmed that this would mean store closures not just in the Philippines, but also in all of the brands' stores globally.

Closure of stores would mean loss of jobs for hundreds of its employees.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dampened growth prospects of businesses not just in the Philippines, but also around the world.

The Philippines, in particular, has seen the exit of major brands such as Nissan and Honda, while luxury hotels Marco Polo Davao and Makati Shangri-La also ceased operations due to the country's slow recovery from the pandemic.

• Makati Shangri-La closing down 'temporarily' as pandemic batters hotel industry
• Marco Polo Davao to cease operations on June 15
• PH full economic recovery may take 4-5 yrs: Biz leaders

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