As I see it | Store reviews: Topshop & Uniqlo's new flagship

Store review: Topshop

After months of speculation and anticipation, Topshop, Britain’s enormously successful “fast fashion” chain, finally made landfall in Hong Kong this week. The opening drew huge press coverage in the UK, from The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph to The Financial Times. Even flamboyant founder and billionaire Sir Philip Green flew into the city just to cut the ribbon. A long queue now snakes out of the store, making the already jam-packed Queen’s Road Central even more impenetrable. Fashion pilgrims wait patiently in the 33-degree sweltering heat to pay homage to this sartorial mecca. There are locals, expats and Mainland tourists of all ages. Topshop appears to have broad appeal and I didn't understand why.

When I first heard that the brand was coming to Hong Kong, I found myself yawning with indifference. After all, Topshop – and its men-only offshoot Topman – has been in Asia for years. There are stores all over Tokyo, Bangkok, KL, Manila and Singapore. As a North American transplant, I had always considered the British retailer a bit of a wannebe brand, whose appeal in Asia is limited to those who once studied or lived in the UK and now crave a piece of Cool Britannica as a reminder of their years abroad. I wondered how far the nostalgic factor will carry the label in Hong Kong when it is up against astronomical retail rent and fierce competition from Zara, H&M, Forever 21, Gap and Uniqlo. Once the 15 minutes of fame passes, it will then quietly exit the city as GAP did in the 1990s and as Benetton and Jack Wills are about to in the not-so-distant future.

That’s what I thought until I spoke to my friend Louise, an English mother of two who is not only an arbiter of taste but also my go-to person for all things British. The first thing that came out of Louise’s mouth when I mentioned Topshop's new Hong Kong store was: “It'll be like printing money, love.” She was confident that the Central store would be a big hit and a launching pad for the label to enter the Mainland Chinese market. Louise went on to talk about Topshop's iconic Oxford Circus flagship in London, its popular lines by Kate Moss and Christopher Kane, and the fact that it not only completely dominates the clothing market in Britain but also operates 400 stores in nearly 50 countries.

“Why is Topshop so successful?” I asked my fashionista friend.

“It is quintessentially High Street: fashionable and accessible,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s better quality than H&M and edgier than Zara.”